Strategic Nano - Seminar Series

Staff from the Centre for Strategic Nano-fabrication will be presenting a series of short seminars on Monday 8th October 2007 from 2.00 - 4.00pm in the Molecular and Chemical Sciences Lecture Theatre, G33 as part of their official opening.

All are welcome to attend the seminar sessions. For further information, please contact Miss Tara Schiller, Centre Manager on 6488 3326.

Time	Presenter	Title	Abstract	Staff Bio
2.00 - 2.20pm	Professor Colin Raston	Introducing the research capabilites of the Centre for Strategic Nano-fabrication.	The University of Western Australia’s Centre for Strategic Nano-Fabrication (CSNF) brings together chemists, engineers, physicists and biochemists with the common goal of developing novel technologies with a wide range of applications. Our cross-disciplinary centre with Australian and International collaborations is a leader in cutting edge scientific research. Our research outcomes are creating novel state-of-the-art nano-technologies while at the same time addressing the key issues in the current community. The core of CSNF is continuous flow processing technologies which can deliver specific nano-particles of uniquely uniform size distribution. Applications of our technology are far reaching, in nano-medicine including drug delivery and imaging, and non-invasive treatment of cancers, nano-forensics through to applications in catalysis for fine chemicals synthesis, mineral processing, and other nano-material production. CSNF will address as core business nano-toxicology and the impact of nano-technology on the environment making products attractive to industry, safe and acceptable to the community.	Professor Raston’s research is in the chemical sciences with links into the biological sciences, medicine, engineering and physics. Areas of research include organic synthesis, green chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, process intensification, and the fabrication of nano-particles. Professor Raston led the debate in Australia in green chemistry, and more recently in incorporating green chemistry into nano-technology. He has extensive experience in peer reviewing grant applications, mainly for the ARC, but also for the EPSRC in the UK, and NSF in the USA, and commencing 2007 is on the ARC College of Experts. He is a former president of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and in 2006 was awarded the Institute’s most prestigious award (Leighton Memorial Award). He chaired an international conference on organometallic chemistry in 1996, and has extensive experience in refereeing journal articles (approximately 80/year).
2.20 - 2.40pm	Swaminathan Iyer	Continuous flow nanotechnology: Addressing sustainability at the inception of a process.	Spinning disc processing (SDP) is an instantaneously scalable, continuous flow and high throughput flash nano-fabrication technology which embraces green chemistry metrics. It has been used to prepare silver nano-particles with remarkable control in size (5 - 200 nm), shape (spheroidal, acicular or agglomerate rosettes), surface characteristics, and phase (cubic versus hexagonal), along with imparting defects for particles > 10 nm diameters. The control is associated with changing the nature of the stabilizing surfactant (respectively starch, polyethylene glycol and poly(4-vinylpyridine)), the concentration of the reactants, and flow rates.	Dr Swaminatha has long-term research experience in developing novel applications using nano-particles, ultrathin polymer films and characterization of nano-systems via state of the art technology. His research has resulted in a number of publications, presentations and 2 patents. His current research involves developing novel nanotechnologies via collaboration with staff located at UWA as well as international collaborations with, IIT India (Fuel Cell Technology), Igor Luzinov, Clemson University, USA (Thin Film Technology) and Igor Sokolov, Clarkson University (Nanomechanical Responses of Cancer Cells).
2.40 - 3.00pm	Associate Professor Tim St-Pierre	Magnetic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications.	The properties of magnetic materials in nanoparticulate form are very different from those of the same materials in bulk form. Some of the key magnetic features that are specific to nanoparticles are the formation of single magnetic domain particles, the phenomenon of superparamagnetism, and very high magnetic susceptibilities in modest magnetic fields. This talk will outline some of the ways we are exploiting these features to produce novel materials for biomedical applications. (1) Coating magnetic nanoparticles with suitable polymers can produce stable dispersed suspensions of the particles in physiological fluids. Such particles act as very high efficiency contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging techniques. (2) Droplets of high concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles in biocompatible polymeric carrier fluids can be magnetically guided through viscous media and may have applications in aiding repair of retinal detachment. (3) Polymeric microspheres impregnated with magnetic nanoparticles can be magnetically guided and are being designed as drug carriers to facilitate targeted drug delivery.	Tim St Pierre is an Associate Professor in the School of Physics at UWA and heads the BioMagnetics Research Group. He has focussed on an interdisciplinary approach to exploiting the magnetic behaviour of materials in the advancement of biomedical technologies. His research efforts fall into two broad categories: (1) the design and development of magnetic nanoparticles and suspensions thereof for biotechnological applications and (2) the design and development of technologies for non-invasive probing of biological structures through measurement of their magnetic properties. His studies have resulted in over 100 refereed publications in international journals, 4 invited book chapters, 7 book chapters (conference proceedings), 3 articles in national professional journals, and 2 families of international patents. The international patents have resulted in the formation of a spin-off company, Inner Vision Biometrics Pty Ltd and the formation of an ASX listed company Resonance Health Ltd. He is currently an Executive Director on the Board of Resonance Health.
3.00 - 3.20pm	Associate Professor Lee-Yong Lim	Targeted drug delivery by nanocarriers.	Most anticancer drugs are non-selective in action, their effects on normal tissues causing many of the undesirable adverse reactions associated with cancer chemotherapy. This talk will focus on cancer-selective delivery platforms developed in our laboratory using the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles and the Hibiscus chlorotic ringspot virus-derived containers as nanocarriers. Conjugation of the nanocarriers with wheat germ agglutinin or folic acid imparted cancer-selectivity as demonstrated by cell-based and in vivo experiments.	Lee-Yong Lim is an Associate Professor of the Pharmacy programme at UWA. Her research focuses on the development of nanocarriers to facilitate drug delivery. Within the CSNF, A/Prof Lim is leading a group to evaluate the toxicity of biomedical nanoparticles.
3.20 - 3.40pm	Dr Mohamed Makha	Molecular Assembly of Calixarenes with Potential Applications in Nanobiotechnology	Calix[n]arenes (n = 4 – 8), a family of cyclic host molecules comprising n phenolic units, have a hydrophobic cavity, which allow them to form stable inclusion complexes with a wide variety of guest molecules. For example, p-phenyl-calix[5]arene forms stable host-guest complexes with fullerene C60 and C70.1 Our direct preparation and functionalization method of calixarenes allowed us to synthesis a wide variety of tailor-made derivatives and explore their supramolecular chemistry.2 For example, amphiphilic derivatives bearing sulfonates have the ability to form nanocapsules, micellar aggregates, layered structures reminiscent of clays and complex assemblies featuring nanovoids. Spinning Disk processing within the centre offers unlimited possibilities in the organisation of such surfactants in conjunction with other materials into hybrid molecular assemblies and surface modified nanoparticles as drug delivery systems.	Dr Makha’s research is in the chemical, physical, medicinal and biological sciences. Topics of research include organic synthesis, green chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, nanochemistry, biomaterials, dental materials, drug delivery and process intensification. Over the years, he has built a good international standing in the field of macrocyclic, calixarene chemistry and self-assembly processes of nanoscale dimensions such as in coordination polymers and nanoporosity of Metal Organic Framework (MOF’s) for gas capture, storage and beyond. Mohamed is an active researcher in nanotechnology, a key player in the Centre of Strategic Nanofabrication a member of the Australian Research Council Nanotechnogy Network (ARCNN) and NanoSafe Australia.
3.40 - 4.00pm	Dr Martin Saunders	Characterisation of nanomaterials by electron microscopy	The ability to characterise the structure and composition of nanomaterials at the sub nm or even atomic scale is of critical importance to nanotechnology research. Electron microscopy provides a variety of techniques by which nanoscale characterisation can be conducted. At UWA, world class electron microscopy facilities are housed within the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis. These facilities and associated staff play a vital role in the activities of the Centre for Strategic Nanofabrication (CSNF). This will be illustrated using examples from collaborative research projects within CSNF.	Dr Martin Saunders is Deputy Director of the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis. His research interests lie in the development and application of electron microscopy techniques. While originally a Physicist, Dr Saunders now collaborates with research groups in both the physical and biological sciences on a variety of problems where electron microscopy is of critical importance. Within CSNF he has established strong collaborative links with many researchers.

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