Tiny polymer tadpoles helping AIBN researchers tackle cancer
Published on: 2 September 2024
Monteiro Group
Designer polymers: Synthesis of complex polymer architectures
The Monteiro Group, led by Senior Group Leader Professor Michael Monteiro, takes a holistic approach towards polymer chemistry, understanding the fundamentals of kinetics and thermodynamics of polymers to create complex polymer architectures that can be custom designed to suit specific applications.
Taking their work on complex structures further, the Group studies emulsion polymerisation to make nanoparticles beyond the traditional spherical shape. Recent advances have enabled the creation of a range of shapes from loops, rods, worms, vesicles, and now a bicompartmentalised tadpole nanostructure.
Professor Monteiro has a joint appointment with SCMB.
Research Areas
- Polymer chemistry
- Emulsion polymerization
- Living Radical Polymerizations
- Dendrimers
- Kinetic Simulations
- Nanoparticles
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Research Highlights
Collaborations
Professor Monteiro has built a strong collaboration with Professor Virgil Percec from the University of Pennsylvania to develop and understand the new SET-LRP. He has developed a strong collaboration with Professor Istvan Toth from the University of Queensland to develop self-adjuvanting vaccines against cancer. In collaboration with Professor Eugenia Kumacheva from the University of Toronto and Professor Peter Gray from the University of Queensland, they developed temperature responsive micron-sized particles for encapsulation of cells and the 3D stem cell expansion, respectively.
