Structural studies often aim to overcome the shortcomings of a sample without compromising on signal or accuracy. One critical aspect of studying rheologically complex liquids is flow, and a sample's deformation history and characteristic time scales can complicate interpretation. In this talk I will discuss some simple (and cheap) methods of avoiding unwanted flow, but also adjusting fluid...
The BioSAXS beamline is one of the new beamlines to be constructed at the Australian Synchrotron within the BRIGHT program. BioSAXS will be dedicated to perform solution small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments, offering access to a variety of researchers from Australia and New Zealand. Solution SAXS experiments continue to be a growing area of the current Australian Synchrotron...
Hypothesis: Hydrophobic ion pairing (HIP), a solubility engineering technique in which ionic hydrophilic molecules are paired with a hydrophobic counterion, is an attractive strategy for encapsulating ionic water-soluble species into nanocarriers (NC). Drug release from NCs containing HIP complexes is sensitive to ionic strength, pH, and drug:counterion charge ratio, but the exact mechanism...
The ability to self-assemble into nanostructures is a fundamental phenomenon is many living and non-living system. The design of polymeric systems that assemble into hierarchically structured nanomaterials requires careful consideration of the microstructure and molecular interactions. For many applications, such as micellar drug delivery systems, precise control over the self-assembly process...
The study of interfacial crystallisation with SAXS/WAXS is commonly conducted using both water-in-oil and oil-in-water and emulsions. The former case can be compared to that of a continuous lipid system, where impurities in the bulk lipid catalyse the formation of a lipid crystal network. In the latter case, the dispersion of the lipid phase into emulsion droplets means the division of...
The crystallisation of lipids within a dispersed oil phase has the potential to stabilise or destabilise the system, depending on the size and position of the crystals. Interfacial crystallisation within dairy emulsions is of particular interest owing to the role of lipid crystals in partial coalescence, an essential process in the stabilisation of products such as whipped creams. Despite the...