We develop chemical tools for clinical diagnostics, medical imaging and environmental sensing. We focus in particular on biological redox state, metal ions, and sensing peptides and proteins. A key aspect of our work is collaboration with end-users.
Our work ranges from developing probes for biologically-relevant metal ions to establishing ways to measure biological redox state to help us to better understand diseases.
We seek to use fluorescence to elucidate the complex chemistry of biological systems. We do this by developing responsive fluorescent sensors that report on specific aspects of their chemical environment. We have funding from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Human Frontier Science Program to develop specific classes of responsive sensors: in each of these projects we work with biological collaborators:
Along with Professor Kate Jolliffe we have developed a portal to make our probes available to users and collaborators:
There is currently considerable interest in elucidating the relationship between the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and health and disease: while transient increases in ROS levels are necessary for physiological processes, chronically-elevated ROS levels (oxidative stress) are associated with various pathologies. We develop fluorescent sensors for oxidative stress and for hypoxia (low oxygen content), with a focus on achieving sub-cellular resolution and ratiometric output. These sensors are being applied to a range of biological systems by collaborators around the world.
Two of our redox probes can be purchased from Stressmarq Biosciences (NpFR1 and FCR1).
Fluorescence offers a cheap alternative to mass spectrometry techniques for analysis of complex environments. We are developing sensor arrays to distinguish and quantify chemical species, especially metal ions, in the environment and in biological systems.
Understanding the biochemical composition of cells, organelles and body fluids is essential for uncovering both physiological and pathological processes. This requires the development of chemical tools to complement current imaging and bioanalytical techniques. Multimodal imaging is gaining traction in biomedical and clinical studies as it combines the relative advantages of two or more imaging techniques. We are interested in developing multimodal imaging agents to combine fluorescence imaging with additional modalities. These additional modalities include vibrational spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence imaging, photoacoustic imaging and positron emission tomography.
We are part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, which focusses on discovering new proteins and peptides from Australia's diverse flora and fauna, decoding their biological functions, and developing new proteins and peptides to address challenges in health, agriculture and industry. Our role in this is to develop new fluorescent methods for understanding how and where peptides and proteins accumulate within cells.
For all enquiries, please contact Elizabeth New.
