A new era for modern main group chemistry: from landmark molecules towards the replacement of transition metal based technologies. This project will develop innovative approaches to access fascinating chemical compounds that were previously thought incapable of existence. These highly reactive, yet non-toxic systems will be exploited as cheap, environmentally benign replacements for the expensive and toxic metal based chemicals that are currently used in numerous technologies.
Development and Biological Chemistry of Novel Platinum Anti-Cancer Agents. "Rule-breakers", platinum anticancer complexes that do not follow the well established structure/activity relationships, have emerged as the way forward in the treatment of cancer resistant to the current generation of drugs and in reducing side effects. We have developed two new groups of "rule-breakers" and these have already demonstrated highly promising anticancer activity and novel biological behaviour. In this proje ....Development and Biological Chemistry of Novel Platinum Anti-Cancer Agents. "Rule-breakers", platinum anticancer complexes that do not follow the well established structure/activity relationships, have emerged as the way forward in the treatment of cancer resistant to the current generation of drugs and in reducing side effects. We have developed two new groups of "rule-breakers" and these have already demonstrated highly promising anticancer activity and novel biological behaviour. In this project we will (i) prepare new anticancer active platinum complexes based on these two highly promising groups of compounds and (ii) determine how these drugs work and what happens to them when in biological environments.Read moreRead less
Advancing the Metal-Organic Chemistry of the Heavy Alkaline Earth Elements. The project will open up a new area in Australian metal based chemical research, deriving high value added products from the already existing exploitation of Australia's substantial alkaline earth metal mineral resources. Internationally recognised expertise in the design and manipulation of highly reactive chemical tools will contribute breakthrough science and innovation to the growing pharmaceutical, fine chemicals an ....Advancing the Metal-Organic Chemistry of the Heavy Alkaline Earth Elements. The project will open up a new area in Australian metal based chemical research, deriving high value added products from the already existing exploitation of Australia's substantial alkaline earth metal mineral resources. Internationally recognised expertise in the design and manipulation of highly reactive chemical tools will contribute breakthrough science and innovation to the growing pharmaceutical, fine chemicals and smart materials industry, with the potential to provide nascent and established Australian companies a competitive edge in new product development. Students will be trained in the necessary skills to succeed in and expand such technically demanding area of metal based chemistry.Read moreRead less
Frontiers in synthetic and structural rare earth chemistry. Rare earth elements are a major under-utilised Auatralian resource.
Their commercial development requires knowledge and progression of their
chemistry. Advancing the chemistry of highly reactive, air-sensitive
metalorganics will provide the breakthrough science to underpin future
applications in chemical manufacture, catalysis and new materials.
Transformation of rare earth chemistry to achieve behaviour hitherto
atypical of these ....Frontiers in synthetic and structural rare earth chemistry. Rare earth elements are a major under-utilised Auatralian resource.
Their commercial development requires knowledge and progression of their
chemistry. Advancing the chemistry of highly reactive, air-sensitive
metalorganics will provide the breakthrough science to underpin future
applications in chemical manufacture, catalysis and new materials.
Transformation of rare earth chemistry to achieve behaviour hitherto
atypical of these elements by steric and electronic modulation of
attached groups will value-add to their properties.Read moreRead less
Rare Earth Metal-Organic Compounds - A Source of Continuing Excitement. Australia has the world's second largest rare earth resources which are at best exported unprocessed leading to an 80-fold mark up on import of separated products. This project builds the expertise and knowledge needed to underpin Australian rare earth processing and develops the breakthrough science needed for new applications or rare earths.
Redox initiated chemistry of hydrogenase H-cluster model compounds: Biologically inspired hydrogen activation catalysts? High efficiency, low temperature, cheap hydrogen activation catalysts suitable for fuel cell applications would provide the basis for the development of environmentally benign technologies suitable for transportation and some power applications. Hydrogenase enzymes are high efficiency, low temperature, hydrogen activation catalysts and the active site of the all-iron version ....Redox initiated chemistry of hydrogenase H-cluster model compounds: Biologically inspired hydrogen activation catalysts? High efficiency, low temperature, cheap hydrogen activation catalysts suitable for fuel cell applications would provide the basis for the development of environmentally benign technologies suitable for transportation and some power applications. Hydrogenase enzymes are high efficiency, low temperature, hydrogen activation catalysts and the active site of the all-iron version of the enzyme has recently been revealed to be a remarkable, weakly protein bound, iron-sulfur-carbonyl-cyanide complex. Research into the reactions of redox activated abiological model compounds will provide insights into the molecular basis of the enzymatic reaction, potentially leading to the discovery of highly efficient, biologically inspired hydrogen activation catalysts.Read moreRead less
Metal-promoted bond functionalisation: new routes to amides and thioamides. This project aims to discover new metal-promoted methods to synthesise amides and thioamides, important structural motifs in chemistry and biology. The project will use a mechanism-based approach that integrates theory with gas- and solution-phase experiments to discover new chemical reactions. A benefit of this research will be new eco-friendly alternatives to existing processes, thereby reducing waste and eliminating t ....Metal-promoted bond functionalisation: new routes to amides and thioamides. This project aims to discover new metal-promoted methods to synthesise amides and thioamides, important structural motifs in chemistry and biology. The project will use a mechanism-based approach that integrates theory with gas- and solution-phase experiments to discover new chemical reactions. A benefit of this research will be new eco-friendly alternatives to existing processes, thereby reducing waste and eliminating toxic and expensive reagents.Read moreRead less
Challenging targets in rare earth metal-organic chemistry. This project aims to prepare highly reactive rare earth organometallic and metal-organic compounds, especially from the free metals, and to determine their structures and reactivity. Abundant rare earth resources position Australia to be a major supplier of these strategic elements. The challenging target systems include coordination stabilised novel ligands, pseudo-Grignard reagents LnR(X) including the rare fluorides, complexes primed ....Challenging targets in rare earth metal-organic chemistry. This project aims to prepare highly reactive rare earth organometallic and metal-organic compounds, especially from the free metals, and to determine their structures and reactivity. Abundant rare earth resources position Australia to be a major supplier of these strategic elements. The challenging target systems include coordination stabilised novel ligands, pseudo-Grignard reagents LnR(X) including the rare fluorides, complexes primed for carbon-fluorine activation, and intermediates from use of lanthanoid reagents in organic synthesis. The project will provide a knowledge base and expertise for the utilisation of Australia's abundant rare earths and will transform the current behaviour of the elements. It builds the expertise and knowledge needed to underpin Australian rare earth processing and develops the breakthrough science needed for new applications in fine chemical manufacturing, catalysis and recycling.Read moreRead less
Advancing the chemistry of topical rare earth metals. Abundant rare earth resources positions Australia to be a major supplier of these strategic elements and overcome the shortage created by the Chinese monopoly and export restrictions. This project will build the expertise and knowledge needed to underpin Australian rare earth processing and develop the breakthrough science needed for new applications.
Targeting Bio-Compatible Homo- and Hetero-bimetallic Cages and their Application in High Energy and Dual Energy Computed Tomography. The project is focused on the synthesis, characterisation and stability of novel homo-metallic and hetero-metallic oxygen and sulfur based cage compounds which have the potential to be suitable for high energy and Dual Energy CT imaging (DECT), and also for optical imaging where rare-earth metals are involved. Pre-requisites for cage design are that they be stable ....Targeting Bio-Compatible Homo- and Hetero-bimetallic Cages and their Application in High Energy and Dual Energy Computed Tomography. The project is focused on the synthesis, characterisation and stability of novel homo-metallic and hetero-metallic oxygen and sulfur based cage compounds which have the potential to be suitable for high energy and Dual Energy CT imaging (DECT), and also for optical imaging where rare-earth metals are involved. Pre-requisites for cage design are that they be stable and soluble in aqueous media, and be resistant to anionic ligand exchange at the cluster surface. The targeted metals are based on good attenuation at high (100 to 140 keV) and low X-ray (less than 30 keV) energies, and the possibility of high stability and low toxicity.Read moreRead less