Molecular monitoring project gets ARC grant

Biomolecular experts from Australia, the UK and the US will join forces to develop new technologies aimed at enabling real-time monitoring of molecular interactions.

The collaboration will be lead by Associate Professor Kevin Pfleger of The University of Western Australia/Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and Professor Stephen Hill of The University of Nottingham (UK).

The academics will be working with instrumentation company BMG Labtech Australia and the US-based enzyme manufacturer Promega Corporation to develop techniques for monitoring molecular interactions based on bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) technologies.

The new project has just been awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, which are primarily awarded to research projects between academics and the private sector.

Pfleger said an international project combining academics and companies is critical to the development of the best technology.

“Working together to develop the assay approach, reagents and instrumentation will enable class-leading high throughput and real-time resonance energy transfer assays to be established, specifically to monitor G protein-coupled receptor pharmacology in live cells,” he said.

“It’s expected that the proposed assay systems will be major advances for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, significantly improving pharmaceutical development, both in terms of identifying novel compounds of interest and better understanding the biochemical basis of pharmacological activity.”