NEW! Take Only When Needed: Drug metabolites in Queensland Waterways and their Effects on Humans
Many over the counter, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to treat pain, fever and inflammation which is the reason for their widespread popularity among millions of persons worldwide at any one time. However, for some of these drugs, once removed from the human body, they find their way into waterbodies because they cannot be removed from wastewater by conventional treatment. This enables their accumulation and elevated concentration profiles in natural waters posing severe risks for aquatic biota like fish, crayfish and algae, mollusks and corals. Therefore, it is important to be able to monitor the levels of such known drugs in waterways and identify when dangerous concentrations are realized because inevitably, the toxic risk comes to humans as apex predators in a biomagnified level. This study aims to develop an analytical method for the determination of selected drugs in selected waterways, discharge points from water treatment plants and within treatment plants, both before and after discharge.
The study will be jointly supervised by Dr Shaneel Chandra and Dr Mani Naiker and based at the Central Queensland Innovation and Research Precinct at the Rockhampton North Campus. In exceptional cases, it could be hosted at the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre in Gladstone.
Field of Research Codes
- 340105 (Instrumental methods (excl. immunological and bioassay methods)
- 340109 (Separation science)
- 340199 (Analytical chemistry not elsewhere classified)
The Person
- Graduate or final year student in science with an equivalent of a major in Chemistry (in exceptional cases, an equivalent of a minor in Chemistry will be considered)
- Applicants in their final year of study will be considered
- An interest in chemistry research and publishing peer-reviewed papers
- An ability to work with minimal supervision alongside other senior research students in busy teams
- A team player who likes to work smart and unwind after productive days in the laboratory
- Willingness to relocate to Rockhampton North or Gladstone campuses
NEW! Coffee: Piping hot… and toxic?
Coffee is a universally popular product due to the sensory enjoyment or mental stimulation that it provides. There is a strong chance that you are either a coffee drinker yourself or hate the stuff but know a coffee connoisseur (often rudely referred to as coffee ‘snob’).
Despite the various methods of preparing a coffee, the general principle of a water-based extraction of the caffeine (or equivalent in decaffeinated brews) applies to all. The pressure and temperature of the extraction plays a significant effect in the perceived taste and varying the extraction conditions would also affect the degree of extractability of all other chemicals in the product.
Unfortunately, there is no reported study on the presence and levels of the toxins in all of the various coffees available in Australia, or the exposure to consumers. This is potentially a serious health risk as individually, Australians consumed an average of 1.91 kilograms of coffee each during 2017.
This Master of Science study aims to address these knowledge gaps and establish the health risk to consumers from drinking various coffees. It will be supervised by Dr Shaneel Chandra.
Field of Research Codes
- 340105 (Instrumental methods (excl. immunological and bioassay methods)
- 340109 (Separation science)
- 340199 (Analytical chemistry not elsewhere classified)
- 300602 (Food chemistry and food sensory science)
The Person
- Graduate or final year student in science with an equivalent of a major in Chemistry (in exceptional cases, an equivalent of a minor in Chemistry will be considered)
- Applicants in their final year of study will be considered
- An interest in chemistry research and publishing peer-reviewed papers
- An ability to work with minimal supervision alongside other senior research students in busy teams
- A team player who likes to work smart and unwind after productive days in the laboratory
- Willingness to relocate to Rockhampton North campus
A novel sensor for the selective and sensitive determination of histamine
Histamine has been found to be an important indicator in fish safety and quality determination. It is naturally produced in fish and high levels of the compound can lead to “scombroid poisoning” or histamine poisoning and even prove fatal if consumed.
This project proposes the development of nanosensing devices on an electrochemical platform. Nanosensing offers a viable solution for each of these issues with in situ analysis, shorter analysis times, increased sensitivity and selectivity towards the target analyte compared to conventional methods such as
Successful electrodes will also be applied towards analysis of fish tissue for histamine. This project straddles several disciplines, including chemistry, materials science and biology. The candidate, upon completion of this project will be well poised to undertake more in depth studies at higher degree level in electroanalysis in particular.
A modified sensor for trace level detection of As(III)
High concentrations of arsenic are carcinogenic and poisonous to humans and it is useful to be able to quantify these levels in waters that are used for human consumption.
Since As(III) is the more toxic form (about 10X) of the metalloid, its speciation is required to understand its biogeochemical cycling and potential toxicity of waters. Specific techniques employed to evaluate arsenic concentrations vary and electrochemical analysis particularly on a voltammetric platform such as anodic stripping voltammetry is one means of analytical measurement techniques for inorganic arsenic in the lll and V oxidation states in the environment. Techniques such as anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) are sensitive, selective and inexpensive.
Studying As(III) at carbon-based screen printed electrodes (SPEs) is not a straightforward analysis, and the project will modify commercially-available screen printed electrodes to enable As detection. The performance of the electrochemical technique will also be compared to the more commonly-used hydride generation method as performance evaluation.
More information on admissions, eligibility, and course details for Master’s by research at CQU can be found here.