Dr Brendan Wilkinson
Applications accepted all year round
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Cyclodextrins (CD) are cyclic oligosaccharides that consist of repeating α-1,4-D-glucopyranoside units.[1] Naturally occurring CDs and their derivatives have been widely used as pharmaceutical excipients and delivery agents, with many finding related applications in the food, agrochemical and textile industries.[3-4] Owing to their powerful host-guest inclusion properties, CDs have recently been exploited as supramolecular hosts, or receptors, that mimic biological recognition events and as water-soluble host templates for macromolecular self-assembly of micelles, vesicles and nanomaterials.[5]
This project will explore the use of dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC)6 for the template-directed synthesis of reversible carbohydrate macrocycles, with a view of developing dynamic combinatorial libraries of CD mimics as “tailored”, adaptable molecular systems for drug delivery and macromolecular self-assembly.
The PhD scholarship will be supported by the Australian Research Council (DECRA) project entitled “Access to Biomimetic carbohydrate receptors using dynamic combinatorial chemistry”. A successful PhD student will be supervised by Dr Brendan Wilkinson (Monash University) and will work closely with Dr Pol Besenius, director of the Supramolecular materials group at the University of Münster, Germany for the characterization of self-assemblies using cutting-edge electron microscopy techniques. The project will combine areas of organic synthesis, carbohydrate chemistry and materials chemistry for the development of adaptable, carbohydrate-based biomaterials. The outcomes of this project will enable the first example of an adaptable carbohydrate macrocycle combinatorial library commencing from a single, functionalized carbohydrate building block, and provide entry to stimuli-responsive and adaptable materials at the single molecule and macromolecular level. The project will largely be conducted at the School of Chemistry, Monash University. The candidate will also be heavily involved in the characterization of CD mimics and self-assemblies, which will be conducted at the Monash Centre for Electron Micrcoscopy (MCEM), Monash University and the University of Münster.
Interested candidates should directly contact Dr Brendan Wilkinson by e-mail: [Email Address Removed]
Funding Notes
International applications must apply for a stipend to cover living expenses (valued at 25,000 AUD tax free) and a scholarship to cover tuition fees.These scholarships are very competitive. Only applicants with a recent IELTS/TOEFL score, strong academic performance, peer-reviewed publication(s) (desirable, not essential) and letters of recommendation will be considered.
References
References
1. Villiers, A., Compt. Rendu. 1891, 112, 536-538.
2. Szetjli, J. Chem. Rev. 1998, 98, 1743-1753.
3. Davis, M. E.; Brewster, M. E. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 2004, 3, 1023-1035.
4. Hedges, R. A. Chem. Rev. 1998, 98, 2035-2044.
5. Chen, G.; Jiang, M. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2011, 40 , 2254–2266.
6. Corbett, P. T.; Leclaire, J.; Vial, L.; West, K. R.; Wietor, J.-L.; Sanders, J. K. M.; Otto, S. Chem. Rev. 2006, 106 , 3652-3711.
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