Dr Khay Fong

Introducing oxygen- or carbon-containing functional groups is a widely adopted strategy to optimize the performance of carbon-based catalysts for the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2 e- ORR). Nevertheless, the specific contributions of these functional groups to enhance activity and selectivity are not well-defined and continue under debate. In this study, we systematically modified carbon materials by controlling the contents of oxygen functional groups (OFGs) and carbon functional groups (CFGs). Surface compositions were accurately quantified using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and 2 e- ORR performance was evaluated using a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) in 0.1 M KOH. Through reliable statistical analyses, including partial least squares regression and linear regression, we explored the correlations between the surface compositional features ¿ specifically the ratios of OFGs, CFGs, and sp2/sp3 hybridized carbon ¿ and the catalytic performance metrics such as onset potential and H2O2 selectivity. Our findings challenge existing paradigms by demonstrating that the sp2/sp3 ratio is a critical factor in determining catalytic selectivity and a certain correlate with the 2 e- ORR onset potential. By tuning this ratio, we achieved nearly 100 % H2O2 selectivity within 0.4¿0.6 V vs. RHE, and onset potential approached the thermodynamic potential (0.766 V vs. RHE for the O2/HO2- process), pointing a new direction in designing and developing advanced electrocatalysts for sustainable H2O2 synthesis.

Microplastics are ubiquitous and appear to be harmful, however, the full extent to which these inflict harm has not been fully elucidated. Analysing environmental sample data is challenging, as the complexity in real data makes both automated and manual analysis either unreliable or time-consuming. To address challenges, we explored a dense feed-forward neural network (DNN) for classifying Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic data. The DNN provides conditional class distributions over 16 microplastic categories given an FTIR spectrum, exceeding number of categories in other works. Our results indicate that this DNN, which is significantly smaller than contemporary models, outperforms other models and even human classification performance. Specifically, while the model broadly reproduces the decisions of human annotators, in cases of disagreement either both were incorrect or the human annotation was incorrect. The errors not being reproduced indicate that the DNN is making informed generalisable decisions. Additionally, this work indicates that there exists an upper limit on metrics measuring performance, where metrics measure agreement between human and model predictions. This work indicates that a small and efficient DNN can making high throughput analysis of difficult FTIR data possible, where predictions match or exceed the reliability typical to low-throughput methods.

Particle size plays an important role in determining the behaviour, fate and effects of microplastics (MPs), yet little is known about MPs <300 µm in aquatic environments. Therefore, we performed the first assessment of MPs in marine surface waters around the Whitsunday Islands region of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia, to test for the presence of small MPs (50¿300 µm) in-situ. Using a modified manta net, we demonstrate that MPs were present in all marine surface water samples, with a mean sea surface concentration of 0.23 ± 0.03 particles m-3. Microplastics were mainly blue, clear and black fibres and fragments, consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene and polypropylene plastic polymers. Tourism and marine recreation were considered the major contributing sources of MPs to surface waters around the Whitsunday Islands. Between 10 and 124 times the number of MPs exist in the 50 µm¿300 µm size class, compared with the 1 mm¿5 mm size range. This finding indicates that the global abundance of small MPs in marine surface waters is grossly underestimated and warrants further investigation. Research into the occurrence, characteristics and environmental fate of MPs <300 µm is needed to improve our understanding of the cumulative threats facing valuable ecosystems due to this smaller, potentially more hazardous size class.

The aqueous channel size of lipidic cubic phases can be a limiting factor for certain applications. For this reason, additives have been used to exquisitely control their nanostructure. In this study, two families of primary phosphoesters have been designed, synthesised and utilised to determine the effect of the positioning of the guest additive at the interface of the host mesophase, and to contrast the effect of headgroup ionisation and protonation. A general methodology has been developed to produce primary phosphoesters, and a unique use of 31P NMR has been used in order to systematically investigate the influence of these additives on monoolein- and phytantriol-based bulk lipidic cubic phases and dispersed cubosomes. In general, di-phosphorylated additives exhibit a greater effect upon lipid packing than the mono- and tri-phosphorylated molecules due to their optimal positioning. In dispersion, the protonation state of the phosphate headgroups was manipulated by altering the pH, where shifts in pKa determined by 31P NMR were used as a fluorescent label-free method to identify the location and ionisation state of the phosphate additives. This study systematically evaluates the influence of the positioning of the additive, headgroup size and charge of phosphorylated lipids on the behaviour of lipidic mesophases.

The ability of donor-acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASAs) to function as a green light responsive switch for lipid-based liquid crystalline drug delivery systems was investigated. The host matrix comprising phytantriol cubic phase was selected due to its high sensitivity toward changes in lipid packing. Small-angle X-ray scattering demonstrated that the matrix undergoes rapid and fully reversible order-order phase transitions upon irradiation with 532 nm light, converting between the bicontinuous cubic phase and reversed hexagonal phases. This approach shows promise for use as an actuator for the development of visible wavelength light-activated, "on-demand" drug delivery systems.

Amyloid fibrils prepared from ß-lactoglobulin were used to form freeze-dried and cross-linked aerogels. By varying the fibril concentration and freezing gradient, it was possible to control the pore structure and elastic modulus of the aerogels within one order of magnitude from ~20 to ~200 kPa. Using butane tetracarboxylic acid as cross-linker, these aerogels maintained their monolithic shape under aqueous conditions, displaying elastic behavior and a modulus in the range of ~4-40 kPa. When explored as scaffolds for cell growth, the amyloid fibril aerogels demonstrated biocompatibility and led to the successful penetration and permeation of two epithelial cell lines (Caco-2 and HT29) throughout the scaffold. These soft, elastic, and water-stable biomaterials expand the scope of amyloid fibril aerogels, making them suitable for wet-state applications such as heterogeneous catalysis, purification membranes, and 3D matrices for cell growth.

The unique multicompartmental nanostructure of lipid-based mesophases can be triggered, on-demand, in order to control the release of encapsulated drugs. In this study, these nanostructured matrices have been designed to respond to a specific enzyme, invertase, an enzyme which catalyses the hydrolysis of sucrose. The effect of two sugar esters upon the phase behaviour of two different lipids which form cubic phases, phytantriol and monolinolein, was investigated. Factors affecting the hydrolysis of the sucrose headgroup are discussed in terms of the molecular structure of the sugar surfactant and also its ability to incorporate into the lipid bilayer. By hydrolysing the incorporated sugar esters, a dynamic change in mesophase nanostructure from vesicles to a cubic phase was observed. This phase change resulted in the triggered release of an encapsulated model drug, fluorescein. This investigation demonstrates, for the first time, that changes on a molecular level by subtly controlling the hydrophilic and hydrophobic features of an amphiphilic additive at the interface by enzymatic hydrolysis can result in a global change in the system and so paves the way towards the design and development of lipid-based matrices which are responsive to specific enzymes for the controlled delivery of pharmaceutically active molecules or functional foods.

On-demand drug delivery systems are highly promising to control the time-course of drug release and ultimately optimize drug concentration time profiles in patients. Lipid based lyotropic liquid crystalline mesophases have demonstrated exceptional responsiveness to external stimuli such as heat, pH and light. Our objective was to quantitatively characterize the time-course of light activated drug release from near infrared (NIR) activated photothermal systems using ex vivo and in vivo studies. Photoresponsive hybrid gold nanorod-liquid crystalline matrices were prepared and loaded into custom-made implants which were inserted into subcutaneous tissues in rats. Time resolved SAXS studies showed the abdomen to be the best site of implantation to achieve in vivo activation of the subcutaneous dose from by the NIR laser. External control of drug release was achieved via NIR laser light and plasma concentrations of the model drug were determined over time. Laser activation achieved a phase change of the photoresponsive formulations and thereby a considerable change in the rate of drug release. Population pharmacokinetic modeling of all results simultaneously revealed a two stage release process unique to these liquid crystalline matrices. The developed structural model was able to successfully describe also the results of our previous study in 2009 where a change in temperature was utilized to trigger subcutaneous drug release. Thus, modeling of the data proved to be a valuable analytical tool which provided a quantitative understanding of the time-course of drug release in vivo and will be essential in the development of these matrices as on-demand release systems.

Recent advances in drug delivery technology have amplified potential opportunities to treat the debilitating diseases that affect the posterior segment of the eye in a less invasive and more efficient manner. Current methods for effective drug delivery to the back of the eye are hindered by many barriers and limitations. As a consequence, considerable efforts have been directed towards developing new materials to selectively deliver drug directly to the target site. This review focuses on lipid-based delivery systems which show promise in improving treatment for the most common disease of the posterior segment of the eye in the developed world, age-related macular degeneration, with an emphasis upon on-demand delivery systems as they have greater potential to overcome the current limitations.

Lyotropic liquid crystalline cubic mesophases can function as host matrices for enzymes because of their biomimetic structural characteristics, optical transparency, and capability to coexist with water. This study demonstrates that the in meso immobilized membrane-bound enzyme d-fructose dehydrogenase (FDH) preserves its full activity, follows ideal Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and shows improved stability compared to its behavior in solution. Even after 5 days, the immobilized FDH retained its full activity in meso, whereas a model hydrophilic enzyme, horseradish peroxidase, maintained only 21% of its original activity. We reason that the lipidic bilayers in the three-dimensional structures of cubic mesophases provide an ideal environment for the reconstitution of a membrane-bound enzyme. The preserved activity, long-term stability, and reusability demonstrate that these hybrid nanomaterials are ideal matrices for biosensing and biocatalytic fuel cell applications.

There is a need for the development of low-energy dispersion methods tailored to the formation of phospholipid-based nonlamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) particles for delivery system applications. Here, facile formation of nonlamellar LLC particles was obtained by simple mixing of a phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposome solution and an oil-in-water emulsion, with limonene or isooctane as an oil. The internal structure of the particles was controlled by the PC-to-oil ratio, consistently with the sequence observed in bulk phase. For the first time, reverse micellar cubosomes with Fm3¯m inner structure were produced. The size, morphology, and inner structure of the particles were characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and freeze-fracture cryo scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). These findings pave the way to new strategies in low-energy formulation of LLC delivery systems.

A weak amphiphilic base, pyridinylmethyl linoleate, is blended with monolinolein, yielding mesophases with a pH-induced hexagonal-to-cubic transition at pH = 5.5. We show the potential therapeutic role of this mesophase in treating cancerous tissues exploiting their more acidic pH compared to healthy tissues. In vitro release studies with doxorubicin on HT29 human colon cancer cells show a 10-fold faster release and 3-fold increased efficiency for killing cancer cells at pH 5.5 versus pH 7.4, demonstrating the potential of this strategy in cancer treatment. This journal is

The manipulation of the structure of phospholipid-based mesophases to induce a slow to fast drug release profile has potential for use in therapeutic situations where continuous absorption of drug is not desirable and reduce the frequency of injection for short acting or rapidly cleared drugs in treatments for diseases such as macular degeneration. This study had two aims; firstly to confirm the phase behaviour of 20 mol% cholesterol in 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (POPE), which was previously reported to transition from lamellar (slow release) to bicontinuous cubic (fast release) phase with increasing temperature. Contrary to the literature, no bicontinuous cubic phase was observed but a transition to the inverse hexagonal phase occurred at all POPE:cholesterol ratios investigated. The second aim was to render these mesophases responsive to near-infrared laser (NIR) irradiation by incorporation of gold nanorods (GNR) incorporated into the POPE system to induce photothermal heating. The inclusion of 3 nM GNR in POPE systems induced reversible disruption of lipid packing equivalent to increasing the temperature to 55 °C when irradiated for 30 s. This study confirmed that although the previously published phase behavior was not correct, GNR and NIR can be used to manipulate the self-assembled mesophases in phospholipid-based systems and highlights the potential for a phospholipid-based light-activated drug delivery system.

High-symmetry lipid nanoparticles with internal bicontinuous cubic phase structure (cubosomes) are prepared from a simple emulsion containing a mixture of a nondigestible lipid (phytantriol) and a digestible short-chained triglyceride using enzymatic lipolysis of the incorporated short-chained triglyceride. The lipolytic products partition away from the nondigestible lipid, resulting in crystallization of the cubic-phase internal structure. Time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering revealed the kinetics of the disorder-to-order transition, with cryo-transmission electron microscopy showing an absence of liposomes. The new approach offers a new sideways method for the generation of lipid-based nanostructured materials that avoids the problems of top-down and bottom-up approaches. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

Lipid-based liquid crystalline systems are showing potential as stimuli-responsive nanomaterials, and NIR-responsive gold nanoparticles have been demonstrated to provide control of transitions in non-lamellar phases. In this study, we focus on a deeper understanding of the photothermal response of both lamellar and non-lamellar phases, and new systems formed by alternative lipid systems not previously reported, by linking the photothermal heating to the bulk thermal properties of the materials. Dynamic photothermal studies were performed using NIR laser irradiation and monitoring the structural response using time resolved small angle X-ray scattering for the bulk phases and hexosomes. In addition, cryoFESEM and cryoTEM were used to visualise and assess the effect of GNR incorporation into hexagonal phase nanostructures. The ability of the systems to respond to photothermal heating was correlated with the thermal phase behaviour and heat capacities of the different structures. Access to alternative phase transitions in these systems and understanding the likely photothermal response will facilitate different modes of application of these hybrid nanomaterials for on-demand drug delivery applications. © the Partner Organisations 2014.

Light-responsive materials formed by liquid crystalline lipids in water have potential application to drug delivery through inclusion of photochromic additives such as spiropyran. A series of novel analogues of spiropyran (SP) have been synthesized with an SP headgroup that possess a C8 (SP-OC), C12 (SP-L), and C16 (SP-P) tail to probe the influence of the length of the hydrophobic tail on their physicochemical properties and effect on behavior in liquid crystal matrices with a view to application as stimulus-responsive elements on ultraviolet irradiation. In addition, compounds possessing an oleyl (SP-OL) and phytanyl (SP-PHYT) tail, to mimic those of the "parent" reverse bicontinuous cubic (V2) phase forming lipids, glyceryl monooleate (GMO) and phytantriol, were also prepared. The photochromic compounds were characterized by their melting points and photophysical behavior in solution using techniques including hot stage microscopy (HSM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and UV-visible spectroscopy. Their effect on the equilibrium nanostructure of bulk V 2 phases and phase-switching kinetics after exposure to UV light was assessed using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The melting point of the SP derivatives decreased linearly with increasing chain length, which suggests that interactions between the head groups governed their melting point, rather than the van der Waals interactions between the tails. Changing the R group did not influence the equilibrium rate constants for the isomerization of SP. Phase transition temperatures of liquid crystalline (LC) matrices were influenced significantly by incorporation of the SP derivatives and were greatest when the photochromic compound possessed an intermediate tail length substituent compared to the short alkyl or bulkier moieties. The level of disruption of lipid packing, and hence phase structure, were dependent on the duration of UV exposure. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Lipid-based liquid-crystalline matrixes provide a unique prospect for stimuli-responsive nanomaterials, attributed to the ability to effect self-assembly of the lipids at the molecular level. Differences in liquid crystal nanostructure have previously been shown to change drug diffusion and hence release, with research progressing toward the use of in situ changes to nanostructure to control drug release. Toward this goal, we have previously communicated the ability to switch between nonlamellar structures using gold nanorod (GNR)-phytantriol-based liquid-crystalline hybrid nanomaterials as near-infrared light responsive systems (Fong et al. Langmuir2010, 26, 6136-6139). In this study, the effect of laser activation on matrix nanostructure with changes in a number of system variables including lipid composition, GNR aspect ratio, GNR concentration, and laser pulse time were investigated. The nanostructure of the matrix was followed using small-angle X-ray scattering, while both cryoFESEM and cryoTEM were used to visualize the effect of GNR incorporation into the liquid crystal nanostructure. The system response was found to be dependent on all variables, thus demonstrating the potential of these nanocomposite materials as reversible "on-demand" drug delivery applications. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

The purpose of this study was to create a light responsive nanostructured liquid crystalline matrix using a novel alkylated spiropyran photochromic molecule (spiropyran laurate, SPL) as a light activated drug delivery system. The liquid crystal matrix, prepared from phytantriol, responds reversibly to changes in photoisomerism of SPL on irradiation, switching between the bicontinuous cubic and the reversed hexagonal liquid crystal structures, a change previously shown to dramatically alter drug release rate. In contrast, the non-derivatized spiropyran and spirooxazine photochromic compounds do not sufficiently disrupt the matrix on isomerization to induce the phase change. Thus, novel alkylated spiropyran has the potential to be an effective agent for use in liquid crystalline systems for reversible 'on-demand' drug delivery applications. © The Author(s) 2012.

The purpose of this study was to create a light responsive nanostructured liquid crystalline matrix using a novel alkylated spiropyran photochromic molecule (spiropyran laurate, SPL) as a light activated drug delivery system. The liquid crystal matrix, prepared from phytantriol, responds reversibly to changes in photoisomerism of SPL on irradiation, switching between the bicontinuous cubic and the reversed hexagonal liquid crystal structures, a change previously shown to dramatically alter drug release rate. In contrast, the non-derivatized spiropyran and spirooxazine photochromic compounds do not sufficiently disrupt the matrix on isomerization to induce the phase change. Thus, novel alkylated spiropyran has the potential to be an effective agent for use in liquid crystalline systems for reversible 'on-demand' drug delivery applications. © The Author(s) 2012.

Lipid-based liquid crystalline materials are of increasing interest for use as drug delivery systems. The intricate nanostructure of the reversed bicontinuous cubic (V2) and inverse hexagonal (H2) liquid crystal matrices have been shown to provide diffusion controlled release of actives of varying size and polarity. In this study, we extend the understanding of release to other self-assembled phases, the micellar cubic phase (I 2) and inverse micelles (L2). The systems are comparable as they were all prepared from the one lipid, glyceryl monooleate (GMO), which sequentially forms all four phases with increasing hexadecane (HD) content in excess water. Phase identity was confirmed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). SAXS data indicated that four mesophases were formed with increasing HD content at 25 °C: V2 phase (Pn3m space group) formed at 0-4% (w/w) HD, H2 phase formed at 4-25% (w/w) HD, I2 phase (Fd3m space group) formed at 25-40% (w/w) HD and finally L2 phase formed at >40% (w/w) HD. Analogous compositions using phytantriol rather than GMO as the core lipid did not produce the I2 phase, with only V 2 to H2 to L2 transitions being apparent with increasing HD concentration. In order to relate the liquid crystal phase structure to drug release rate, in vitro release tests were conducted by incorporating radio-labelled glucose as a model hydrophilic drug into the four GMO-based mesophases. It was found that the drug release followed first-order diffusion kinetics and was fastest from V2 followed by L2, H2, and I2. Drug release was shown to be significantly faster from bicontinuous cubic phase than the other mesophases, indicating that the state of the water compartments, whether open or closed, has a great influence on the rate of drug release. It is envisioned that liquid crystalline mesophases with slower release characteristics will more likely have potential applications as sustained release drug delivery systems, and hence that the bicontinuous cubic phase is not necessarily the best choice for a sustained release matrix. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The nanostructure of mesophase liquid crystals prepared from amphiphilic lipids controls the rate of release of incorporated agents from the material, such as drug molecules, and reversible transition between different nanostructures essentially provides an "on-off" switch for release (Fong, W.-K.; Hanley, T.; Boyd, B. J. J. Controlled Release 2009, 135, 218-226). In this study, the incorporation of plasmonic hydrophobized gold nanorods (GNRs) permits reversible manipulation of nanostructure on-demand, by irradiation of the matrix using a near-infrared laser. Synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering was used to probe the kinetics of the response of nanostructure to laser irradiation, and the specificity of the approach is shown by the lack of response in the absence of nanorods, or for GNR whose dimensions are not matched to the specific wavelength of the incident light. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Lipid-based liquid crystalline materials have been proposed as controlled drug delivery systems. Differences in liquid crystal nanostructure have previously been shown to change drug diffusion and hence release, however there has been little progress towards the use of in situ changes to nanostructure to control drug release. In this study, phytantriol and glyceryl monooleate-based bicontinuous cubic (Q2) and inverse hexagonal (H2) nanostructures have been designed to allow change to the nanostructure in response to external change in temperature, with a view to controlling drug release rates in vivo. Changes to nanostructure with temperature were confirmed by crossed polarised optical microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering. Phytantriol containing 3% (w/w) vitamin E acetate provided the necessary phase transition behaviour to progress this system to in vitro release and in vivo proof of concept studies. Using glucose as a model hydrophilic drug, drug diffusion was shown to be reversible on switching between the H2 and Q2 nanostructures at temperatures above and below physiological temperature respectively. An in vivo proof of concept study in rats showed that after subcutaneous administration of these materials, the changes in nanostructure induced by application of a heat or cool pack at the injection site stimulated changes in drug release from the matrix anticipated from in vitro release behaviour, thereby demonstrating the potential utility of these systems as 'on demand' drug release delivery vehicles. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.