Research School of Chemistry
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Research School of Chemistry
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Media Reports.
PDF file A new molecule shaped like a miniature football stadium that promises many applications, including precision drug delivery, has been developed by chemists at The Australian National University. The molecule is capable of capturing and releasing drugs and chemicals, and has the potential for removing environmental toxins, catalysing chemical reactions and allowing new chemical purification. Developed by synthetic chemist Dr Michael Sherburn and colleagues at the Research School of Chemistry, it belongs to a class of artificial bowl shaped molecules first developed more than a decade ago to mimic naturally occurring enzymes in the body. The superbowl molecule has a unique shape: a rigid hollow sphere with the top chopped off. It is made through a chemical synthesis that unites five concave surfaces: four sides and a base. The open top allows 'guests' (such as drug molecules) to pass in and out. "This is a very hot area at the moment and there is lot of great research being carried out around the world, particularly with assemblies of small bowl-like molecules," Dr Sherburn said. "Our contribution is exciting and different because no one has made single molecule containers like this before." Its molecular structure is enormous by chemistry standards, containing 268 carbon atoms, 320 hydrogen atoms and 52 oxygen atoms. Nevertheless, the superbowl structure is only a few nanometres wide, thousands of times smaller than the width of a single human hair. The researchers have shown that the hollow interior of the superbowl molecule can hold 'guest' molecules of up to 100 atoms - substantially larger than existing molecular containers and importantly, is big enough to encapsulate most common medicinal agents. "Our compound is a much larger version of the original bowl molecules, hence the name 'superbowl'. The original bowl molecules bind only the smallest 'guests' - one molecule of ethanol, for example. Our molecule has much greater capacity and selectivity than its predecessors and shows more promise for wider applications. "The design allows us to do lots of new things, like changing the size and shape of the hole at the top of the molecule, which makes it easier or more difficult for, say a particular drug molecule, to pass in and out. This is ideal if you're interested in modifying the rate of release of a particular guest. "We're particularly excited by the possibility of carrying out chemical reactions inside superbowl. The ability of one superbowl host to hold five guest molecules in precise locations in 3D space at the same time shows great promise for catalysis," Dr Sherburn said. The research team - group leader Dr Sherburn, PhD student Elizabeth Barrett, crystallographer Dr Alison Edwards and PhD student Jacob Irwin from the University of Sydney - published their results in the 29 December edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. An animation and images of the superbowl molecule are available from the ANU Media Office.
Researchers from the Research School of Chemistry (RSC) at ANU have achieved significant success, following three recent international and national awards. Professor Martin Banwell has been awarded two prestigious prizes, the 2003 Royal Society of Chemistry Award for Synthetic Organic Chemistry and the Novartis Chemistry Lectureship for 2004. Also, Professor Denis Evans, the Director of the Research School of Chemistry (RSC) has been awarded the Moyal Medal, for research contributions to mathematics, physics or statistics, by the Macquarie University Mathematics Department. "These awards are further proof that ANU staff are committed to achieving excellence," ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb said. "The Research School of Chemistry hosts some of the world’s best talent in fundamental chemistry, and these awards are a testament to that. "Professor Banwell’s achievements are particularly noteworthy, especially in a year he was also elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, along with another RSC academic, Professor Christopher Easton. "Significantly, it was also the third time in five years that an Australian National University researcher has been awarded the Moyal Medal, which speaks volumes of our staff here," Professor Chubb said. Professor Banwell is Head of Organic Chemistry at the Research School of Chemistry. His research focuses primarily on developing new methods for the synthesis of biologically active target molecules, such as lamellarin K, a sponge-derived compound that has significant potential in the treatment of certain forms of lung cancer. Professor Banwell was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry prize for the "elegant use of chemoenzymatic methods for the preparation of a wide variety of complex natural products including alkaloids and sesquiterpenes, as well as versatile strategies for the synthesis of troponoids and the lamellarins". The prestigious Moyal Medal is named in honour of Jose Enrique Moyal, who came to Australia in 1958 to work in the Department of Statistics at The Australian National University. As recipient, Professor Evans will deliver the 2004 Moyal Lecture on Mathematics, Physics and Statistics. Professor Evans’ research interests include non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, and he has been involved in the development of nearly all the computer simulation algorithms used in the calculation of transport properties of classical liquids.
ANU researchers have overturned 20 years of thinking about the powerplant which enables photosynthesis to occur, sending biologists, chemists and physicists back to the drawing board. The chemical reaction which provides energy for photosynthesis, enabling plants to convert sunlight into energy and oxygen, is the most powerful process in biology -- but ANU research indicates that it has been misunderstood for two decades. The finding could take scientists a step closer to identifying a new sustainable energy source. Professor Elmars Krausz, PhD student Joe Hughes and a team of researchers at ANU have found that the wavelength of light needed for oxygen production is much longer than previously thought. Using high-resolution lasers, they have also found that the rate at which energy is fed into photosynthetic reaction centers is very strongly controlled by biological "speed humps", again a great surprise and opposite to what had been thought. "Our entire existence is dependent on this critical process. It makes the air we breathe and the food we eat, yet we don’t know how it works" Professor Krausz said. "We have discovered that the special reaction centers that power oxygen production have been misunderstood for decades." "These discoveries will not only have a profound impact on our understanding and ability to control, modify and adapt natural photosynthesis, but will also extend potential of engineered chemistry which can copy nature via the technique of artificial photosynthesis. "By encouraging and modifying natural systems or by mimicking their tricks, we can deliver a new range of sustainable, non-polluting, greenhouse positive energy production sources." The Dean of the Research School of Chemistry, Professor Denis Evans, said the finding was a major breakthrough in our understanding of the chemistry that supports life. "This is one of the significant breakthroughs which change the course of research in a field," Professor Evans said. "It clearly underscores the incredible importance of fundamental research and the need to provide adequate funding for basic and enabling research in Australia." Professor Krausz added: "For decades people have tried to explain this oxygenic photosynthesis by relating it to a process that occurs in bacteria, which is far older in evolutionary terms. "It was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. We took a close look at the peg then used advanced techniques developed in physics and chemistry together with the best biological samples available. We found we needed a round peg. There is now and an exciting new way of approaching this violent beast." "Our initial findings are being published in a special edition of the Journal of Physical Chemistry, and more recent experiments have been phenomenally successful in supporting the new paradigm." "Thousands of researchers worldwide have been trying, for decades, to understand this process. This breakthrough has only become possible through the efforts and cooperation of a cross-disciplinary team at ANU working on photosynthesis, spectroscopy and biochemistry." Further InformationTim WinklerMedia Liaison, Marketing and Communications Tel: 02 6125 5001 Email: Tim.Winkler@anu.edu.au
(1) The Prime News clip dates from November 2000. The news item was in response to the publication of a report in Science (featured on the front cover) First-principles theory for the H + H2O, D2O reactions This was the first calculation of the dynamics of a chemical reaction for a polyatomic molecule which was done completely from "first-principles" or "ab initio". This demonstrated that "computer chemistry" could produce quantitatively accurate description of chemistry and make useful quantitative predictions. (2) The ABC clip dates from 2002. The news item was in response to the publication of a report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (featured on the front cover) Probing the transition state via photoelectron and
photodetachment spectroscopy of H3O-. This advanced the scope of quantitative first-principles "computer chemistry" by demonstrating that we could calculate the photoelectron spectrum of OH3-. This system is one classic example of the fact that the stable structure of an anion may be close to the structure of the transition state for a reaction of the neutral ( OH + H2 to H + H2O). So, the photoelectron spectrum probes the energetics of the transition state, and relates directly to chemical reaction mechanism.
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