A golden approach to nanomedicine. Gold-polymer hybrid nanoparticles

Overview

Gold, a precious metal, is also highly valued for the production of highly functional nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticles interact with light and microwaves to generate heat and light, which can be used in nanomedicine for therapy or imaging.

This project will look at developing polymer-gold hybrid nanoparticles to improve disease delivery and therapy. This project involves:

• polymer synthesis
• materials formulation
• characterisation.

Research activities

As part of this research project you will:

• learn and gain experience in controlled chemical techniques to synthesise polymeric materials with defined composition and architecture
• have the opportunity to perform advanced analytical techniques
• learn how to characterise the structure and properties of these materials.

Outcomes

This project aims to develop new materials for the delivery of gold nanoparticles as new therapies for the treatment of cancer, by use in radiation therapy and microwave therapy.

This project will explore new synthetic techniques for synthesising gold-polymer hybrid particles and how to formulate these materials into useful nanomedicines.

Skills and experience

This project will suit students who have a passion and enthusiasm for synthetic organic and polymer chemistry.

For Honours, Masters and PhD projects: a degree in chemistry with high level courses in organic chemistry and/or polymer chemistry are required.

For VRES and undergraduate projects: a foundation of at least first year undergraduate level chemistry will be required for this project. Completion of the second year organic chemistry unit is also preferable.

Scholarships

You may be able to apply for a research scholarship in our annual scholarship round.

Annual scholarship round

Keywords

• polymer
• nanotechnology
• cancer
• medicine
• materials

Contact

Contact the supervisor for more information.