ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7759-7456
Current Organisation
University of Alabama at Birmingham
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Functional Materials | Nanomaterials | Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences | Nanotechnology | Membrane and Separation Technologies | Materials Engineering | Pharmaceutical Sciences | Photonics, Optoelectronics and Optical Communications | Industrial Microbiology (incl. Biofeedstocks) | Nanoscale Characterisation
Expanding Knowledge in Technology | Expanding Knowledge in the Chemical Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Physical Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in Engineering | Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences |
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 16-07-2020
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 16-09-2021
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 10-08-2021
Abstract: The nanoscale hierarchical design that draws inspiration from nature's biomaterials allows the enhancement of material performance and enables multifarious applications. Self-assembly of block copolymers represents one of these artificial techniques that provide an elegant bottom-up strategy for the synthesis of soft colloidal hierarchies. Fast-growing polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) renders a one-step process for the polymer synthesis and
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 14-05-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-05-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S42003-023-04948-2
Abstract: Approximately 300,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears occur annually in the United States, half of which lead to the onset of knee osteoarthritis within 10 years of injury. Repetitive loading is known to result in fatigue damage of both ligament and tendon in the form of collagen unravelling, which can lead to structural failure. However, the relationship between tissue’s structural, compositional, and mechanical changes are poorly understood. Herein we show that repetitive submaximal loading of cadaver knees causes an increase in co-localised induction of collagen unravelling and tissue compliance, especially in regions of greater mineralisation at the ACL femoral enthesis. Upon 100 cycles of 4× bodyweight knee loading, the ACL exhibited greater unravelled collagen in highly mineralized regions across varying levels of stiffness domains as compared to unloaded controls. A decrease in the total area of the most rigid domain, and an increase in the total area of the most compliant domain was also found. The results highlight fatigue-driven changes in both protein structure and mechanics in the more mineralized regions of the ACL enthesis, a known site of clinical ACL failure. The results provide a starting point for designing studies to limit ligament overuse injury.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 05-10-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-03-2021
Abstract: Photopolymerization allows fast production of materials with special properties however, a short wavelength of light is required for most commercial photoinitiating systems and the oxygen inhibition effect for the free radical polymerization has limited possible applications. Herein, we investigate thiol‐ene photopolymerization with various types of “ene” derivatives and thiols using our previously reported photoinitiator 2‐(4‐methoxystyryl)‐4,6‐bis(trichloromethyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine (triazine) alone or in combination with rubrene or 1,4‐bis(isopropylamino)anthraquinone (SB36) as the photoinitiating systems to trigger polymerization under irradiation with blue, green, and red LEDs. An analysis of photopolymerization kinetics and the effects of different light irradiation conditions, chemical structures, composites of “ene” and thiol monomers, and air on the thiol‐ene photopolymerization reaction are presented. Specifically, rates of photopolymerization of all thiol‐ene formulations decrease as the wavelength of irradiation increases and show no significant difference when polymerization occurs under air or in laminate. Mechanical properties and homogeneity of the photocured s les are analyzed and demonstrated that all thiol‐ene formulations appear to have a homogeneous network. Regarding mechanical properties, with a lower amount of thiol incorporated in the network, the storage modulus and the glass transition temperature (T g ) of the photocured product increased. Storage stability of thiol‐ene formulations is also studied and 5‐hydroxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinone (5HNQ), a naturally derived dye derivative, is found to be successful in inhibiting premature gelation in thiol‐ene systems without significantly affecting the photopolymerization performance.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 08-04-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 31-08-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 23-02-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 06-01-2022
Abstract: Rapid serology platforms are essential in disease pandemics for a variety of applications, including epidemiological surveillance, contact tracing, vaccination monitoring, and primary diagnosis in resource-limited areas. Laboratory-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) platforms are inherently multistep processes that require trained personnel and are of relatively limited throughput. As an alternative, agglutination-based systems have been developed however, they rely on donor red blood cells and are not yet available for high-throughput screening. Column agglutination tests are a mainstay of pretransfusion blood typing and can be performed at a range of scales, ranging from manual through to fully automated testing. Here, we describe a column agglutination test using colored microbeads coated with recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that agglutinates when incubated with serum s les collected from patients recently infected with SARS-CoV-2. After confirming specific agglutination, we optimized centrifugal force and time to distinguish s les from uninfected vs SARS-CoV-2-infected in iduals and then showed concordant results against ELISA for 22 clinical s les, and also a set of serial bleeds from one donor at days 6-10 postinfection. Our study demonstrates the use of a simple, scalable, and rapid diagnostic platform that can be tailored to detect antibodies raised against SARS-CoV-2 and can be easily integrated with established laboratory frameworks worldwide.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 20-04-2023
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 22-08-2022
DOI: 10.1021/ACS.ANALCHEM.2C01979
Abstract: The phase (solid, semisolid, or liquid) of atmospheric aerosols is central to their ability to take up water or undergo heterogeneous reactions. In recent years, the unexpected prevalence of viscous organic particles has been shown through field measurements and global atmospheric modeling. The aerosol phase has been predicted using glass transition temperatures (
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 29-06-2022
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-04-2020
DOI: 10.3390/NANO10050834
Abstract: Breast cancer is the abnormal, uncontrollable proliferation of cells in the breast. Conventional treatment modalities like chemotherapy induce deteriorating side effects on healthy cells. Non-viral inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) confer exclusive characteristics, such as, stability, controllable shape and size, facile surface modification, and unique magnetic and optical properties which make them attractive drug carriers. Among them, carbonate apatite (CA) particles are pH-responsive in nature, enabling rapid intracellular drug release, but are typically heterogeneous with the tendency to self-aggregate. Here, we modified the nano-carrier by partially substituting Ca2+ with Mg2+ and Fe3+ into a basic lattice structure of CA, forming Fe/Mg-carbonate apatite (Fe/Mg-CA) NPs with the ability to mitigate self-aggregation, form unique protein corona in the presence of serum and efficiently deliver doxorubicin (DOX), an anti-cancer drug into breast cancer cells. Two formulations of Fe/Mg-CA NPs were generated by adding different concentrations of Fe3+ and Mg2+ along with a fixed amount of Ca2+ in bicarbonate buffered DMEM (Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium), followed by 30 min incubation at 37 °C. Particles were characterized by turbidity analysis, z-average diameter and zeta potential measurement, optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), pH dissolution, drug binding, cellular uptake, thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, stability analysis, and protein corona study by LCMS (Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry). Both formulations of Fe/Mg-CA displayed mostly uniform nano-sized particles with less tendency to aggregate. The EDX and FAAS elemental analysis confirmed the weight (%) of Ca, Fe and Mg, along with their Ca/P ratio in the particles. A constant drug binding efficiency was noticed with 5 μM to 10 μM of initial DOX concentration. A pH dissolution study of Fe/Mg-CA NPs revealed the quick release of DOX in acidic pH. Enhancement of cytotoxicity for the chemotherapy drug was greater for Fe/Mg-CA NPs as compared to CA NPs, which could be explained by an increase in cellular internalization as a result of the small z-average diameter of the former. The protein corona study by LCMS demonstrated that Fe/Mg-CA NPs exhibited the highest affinity towards transport proteins without binding with opsonins. Biodistribution study was performed to study the effect of DOX-loaded Fe/Mg-CA NPs on the tissue distribution of DOX in Balb/c 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. Both formulations of Fe/Mg-CA NPs have significantly increased the accumulation of DOX in tumors. Interestingly, high Fe/Mg-CA NPs exhibited less off-target distribution compared to low Fe/Mg-CA NPs. Furthermore, the blood plasma analysis revealed prolonged blood circulation half-life of DOX-loaded low and high Fe/Mg-CA NPs compared to free DOX solution. Modifying CA NPs with Fe3+ and Mg2+, thereby, led to the generation of nano-sized particles with less tendency to aggregate, enhancing the drug binding efficiency, cellular uptake, and cytotoxicity without h ering drug release in acidic pH, while improving the circulation half-life and tumor accumulation of DOX. Therefore, Fe/Mg-CA which predominantly forms a transport protein-related protein corona could be a proficient carrier for therapeutic delivery in breast cancer.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 17-08-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-10-2019
Abstract: Homochiral metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes have been recently reported for chiral separations. However, only a few high-quality homochiral polycrystalline MOF membranes have been fabricated due to the difficulty in crystallization of a chiral MOF layer without defects on porous substrates. Alternatively, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), which combine potential advantages of MOFs and polymers, have been widely demonstrated for gas separation and water purification. Here we report novel homochiral MOF-polymer MMMs for efficient chiral separation. Homochirality was successfully incorporated into achiral MIL-53-NH
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 07-2019
Abstract: Nearly three-quarters of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur as “noncontact” failures from routine athletic maneuvers. Recent in vitro studies revealed that repetitive strenuous submaximal knee loading known to especially strain the ACL can lead to its fatigue failure, often at the ACL femoral enthesis. ACL failure can be caused by accumulated tissue fatigue damage: specifically, chemical and structural evidence of this fatigue process will be found at the femoral enthesis of ACLs from tested cadaveric knees, as well as in ACL explants removed from patients undergoing ACL reconstruction. Controlled laboratory study. One knee from each of 7 pairs of adult cadaveric knees were repetitively loaded under 4 times–body weight simulated pivot landings known to strain the ACL submaximally while the contralateral, unloaded knee was used as a comparison. The chemical and structural changes associated with this repetitive loading were characterized at the ACL femoral enthesis at multiple hierarchical collagen levels by employing atomic force microscopy (AFM), AFM–infrared spectroscopy, molecular targeting with a fluorescently labeled collagen hybridizing peptide, and second harmonic imaging microscopy. Explants from ACL femoral entheses from the injured knee of 5 patients with noncontact ACL failure were also characterized via similar methods. AFM–infrared spectroscopy and collagen hybridizing peptide binding indicate that the characteristic molecular damage was an unraveling of the collagen molecular triple helix. AFM detected disruption of collagen fibrils in the forms of reduced topographical surface thickness and the induction of ~30- to 100-nm voids in the collagen fibril matrix for mechanically tested s les. Second harmonic imaging microscopy detected the induction of ~10- to 100-µm regions where the noncentrosymmetric structure of collagen had been disrupted. These mechanically induced changes, ranging from molecular to microscale disruption of normal collagen structure, represent a previously unreported aspect of tissue fatigue damage in noncontact ACL failure. Confirmatory evidence came from the explants of 5 patients undergoing ACL reconstruction, which exhibited the same pattern of molecular, nanoscale, and microscale structural damage detected in the mechanically tested cadaveric s les. The authors found evidence of accumulated damage to collagen fibrils and fibers at the ACL femoral enthesis at the time of surgery for noncontact ACL failure. This tissue damage was similar to that found in donor knees subjected in vitro to repetitive 4 times–body weight impulsive 3-dimensional loading known to cause a fatigue failure of the ACL. These findings suggest that some ACL injuries may be due to an exacerbation of preexisting hierarchical tissue damage from activities known to place larger-than-normal loads on the ACL. Too rapid an increase in these activities could cause ACL tissue damage to accumulate across length scales, thereby affecting ACL structural integrity before it has time to repair. Prevention necessitates an understanding of how ACL loading magnitude and frequency are anabolic, neutral, or catabolic to the ligament.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 29-09-2020
Location: United States of America
Start Date: 11-2021
End Date: 11-2024
Amount: $466,420.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 02-2021
End Date: 02-2025
Amount: $540,762.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2019
End Date: 12-2021
Amount: $809,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity