Synchrotron Strategy Group

The construction of Australia's first synchrotron is considered to be the most significant scientific infrastructure investment made in Australia for decades. Synchrotrons produce an intense beam of X-ray or light known as synchrotron light that allows scientists to obtain detailed structural information about a sample (e.g. a protein crystal). Opening in 2007, the Australian synchrotron will complement research conducted at the Victorian College of Pharmacy by speeding up the drug design process and help make major scientific advances in the fight against diseases. Established in 2004, the primary aim of the Victorian College of Pharmacy Synchrotron Strategy Group is to enhance the faculty’s research profile by promoting research programs that make use of synchrotron based techniques. Researchers from the faculty who now have to travel overseas to use synchrotrons in other countries will have easy access to the new Australian Synchrotron, located adjacent to Monash University's Clayton campus.

Focus research areas at the Victorian College of Pharmacy that will benefit from ready access to synchrotron source are:

• High resolution structural studies of drugs and the complexes formed with proteins, enzymes, receptors
• Imaging of drug-pathogen interactions
• Physicochemical characterization of drug candidates
• Structural studies of drug delivery systems