Page 33 - Materials Australia - April 2019

UNIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT
Key Centre for Polymers and
Colloids
With world-class facilities, designed for studying soft-matter, the Key Centre for Polymers and Colloids is dedicated to developing industrial products that are more environmentally-friendly and more functional. The Centre is divided into four broad research areas:
• Molecular Engineering • Complex Fluids
• Nano Interfaces
• Polymer Colloids
It enjoys an extensive network of collaborations and offers research support to primary and secondary industries throughout the world. The major laboratory, the Nuplex Polymer Synthesis Laboratory, is named in honour of foundation sponsor Nuplex resins. The Orica Polymer Characterisation Laboratory also has facilities for the characterisation of polymer colloids.
The Centre is currently working on research such as:
• Organic synthesis
• Polymer synthesis
• Polymer self-assembly
• Hybrid natural/synthetic materials
• Formation and characterisation of
polymer colloids
• Hydrocolloids
• Surfactants
• Surface chemistry
The University of Sydney
Nano Institute
The Nano Institute is dedicated to harnessing the power of the nanoscale for the benefit of the world. At the nanoscale, the unusual behaviour of atoms, electrons, photons and molecules hold incredible benefits and promise for humanity.
The work at the Nano Institute is already having serious impacts on fields as diverse as computing, communications, health, the environment, energy and of course, manufacturing.
The Institute is centred around the purpose-built Sydney Nanoscience Hub, where the current and future generations of material scientists and engineers are able to collaborate and contribute to our knowledge of the nanoscale. From machines that operate according to the quantum laws of nature, to improving the capture and storage of renewable forms of energy, the implications of this
knowledge are life-changing.
Sydney Nano has made partnerships with industry and research institutions around the world, and their facilities are always open for collaboration with institutions and companies seeking to conduct fundamental research.
Sydney Nano’s Facilities
The $150 million Sydney Nanoscience Hub has been built to tackle the problems of the future. This purpose-built facility is capable of exploring the nature of matter and designing and engineering new technologies thanks to world-class cleanroom and nanofabrication facilities.
Every aspect is designed to offer precise measurements and understand exotic phenomena on the nanoscale. 25 laboratory modules are housed within the hub. These spaces are among the most tightly controlled in the world, thanks to a combination of controls on temperature, air pressure, mechanical vibrations, and electromagnetic interference.
Sydney Nano features several exciting installations, including:
• ‘Floating’ research laboratory floors built on a concrete slab that is decoupled from the building superstructure to create an incredibly stable environment with low vibrations for high-precision measurements
• A power distribution network designed to provide a low-noise earth reference voltage and ‘clean’ mains power with minimal distortion, pickup, or stray currents.
• Electromagnetic shielding of all submains distribution lines, and in research laboratories, designed to suppress unwanted interference from outside the laboratory
• High-precision air conditioning in the research laboratories, designed to maintain room temperatures stable to within 0.1 degree by replacing all air in the room once every minute
• Centrally distributed laboratory services routed through a specially designed ‘grey space’ corridor
Sydney NanoProbe Hub
This hub is used for the nanocharacterisation of biological material, including proteins, DNA and extracellular vesicles and interactions of exogenous nanomaterials with bacteria, cells and tissues.
The study of metals interacting with biological systems is a particular research strength. The development of inductively- coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (SC-ICP-MS) allows for the measurement of metal atoms in an individual cell, as well as individual nanoparticles in cells and in the environment. Still in the early stages of development, the hub is collaborating with Perkin Elmer for many important purposes.
The Oxford Nanoimager is another vital tool. This high-throughput super-resolution microscope is capable of imaging nanoscale particles in biological systems with unsurpassed accuracy, and is the basis of the collaboration between Sydney Nano and the drug discovery initiative.
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Special piping and rooms inside the Sydney Nanoscience Hub. Image credit: AINST.