Structure function relationships

Nuclear sensors can be used to produce novel Nuclear Probes for various applications, in particular new drug delivery devices for medical uses and for cancer imaging PET/MRI agents. These probes will provide an insight into surface properties, molecular imaging and toxicology of materials and substances.

Nuclear sensors provide tools to investigate and/or assess the properties of materials such as organic/inorganic particles, polymers, thin films and self-assembled monolayers. It will provide useful information such as the surface effects on performance, degradation or the porosity of materials. The nuclear sensors can also be used to develop radiolabelled-nanoparticles as imaging agents for PET and MRI dual-modality imaging technologies.

By using nuclear sensors, with the detection limit as low as sub-Pico mole concentration, toxicology of industrial and commercial nanoparticles can be evaluated. This will provide or improve our understanding of the interactions of nanomaterials in biological systems and assist in the development of the next generation of nanomaterials for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.

Research aims

As part of the Nuclear Sensors research to establish the relationship between the structure and function of various classes of materials, a series of functionalised particles (non-biodegradable and biodegradable) of varying sizes and porosity with different reactive groups will be developed for calibration of Positron Annihilation Lifetime Systems and available conjugation sites determined using nuclear sensors.

This project will also investigate the role of positron annihilation techniques in detecting defects such as voids and nanopores in materials (i.e. particles and films), by developing a digital Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectrometer. This will enable investigation of the influence of various material engineering processes on the presence of defects and voids in particles, films and composite materials and investigation of defects generated in materials after exposure to extreme environments such as highly corrosive solvents, heat, stress and radiation.