The mining industry represents a large part of the economy in Canada. Ontario is the largest producer of gold in the nation, producing 53% of Canada's total minerals production in 2007 [1]. Despite its high toxicity, cyanide is commonly employed in the extraction of gold from its ore. Its use represents an environmental hazard due […]

In the last ten years the market for mobile devices and portable electronics has never ceased to grow, creating a rising demand for batteries. However it is practically impossible for consumers to identify their actual state-of-charge leading to the disposal of still viable batteries. In the past battery manufacturers have developed “on-board” testers allowing consumers […]

A simple and facile route for the construction of highly sensitive electrochemical enzyme biosensors has been proposed using carbon nanotube (CNT) complexes with a conducting poly(thiophene) polymer. Glucose oxidase was used as a model enzyme for the construction of the advanced biosensors. Glucose biosensors, exhibiting sensitivity higher than any biosensor based on CNTs and other […]

We have developed a technology platform that allows us to obtain quantitative information regarding biomarkers much faster than currently possible, without the need to use expensive antibodies for detection. Our platform allows for simultaneous detection of many biomarkers at once. This reduces the time and the cost associated with biodiagnosis, and will directly contribute to […]

Quantitative steroid hormone measurements are a mainstay in the field of clinical endocrinology, due to their effects in myriad processes from maturation to hormone-sensitive cancers. Conventional steroid hormone testing protocols require a venopunture blood draw (~5 mL) followed by a time consuming immunoassay (~2 hr) each time a single  hormone is tested. In response to […]

Peptides control a vast range of intra- and intercellular processes. However, linear peptides suffer from instability and poor cell permeability, which limits their application as therapeutic agents. In contrast to linear peptides, cyclic variants are more resistant to both exo- and endoproteases, which explains the therapeutic potential of this class of molecules. Peptide macrocycles have […]

The project’s aims are to conduct research on geological carbon storage from the perspective of dynamic analysis and process systems engineering, looking in particular at the dynamics between the wellhead and the CO2 storage reservoir. The main objective is to achieve closed loop operation and management of the reservoir with respect to CO2 sequestration and […]

Determining the properties of materials has always been one of the primary goals of research in materials science. Computational models for materials’ property determination are hindered by their high computational cost; it can take weeks (even years) to develop and evaluate a computational model for a single property of a single material. The current approach […]

With the advent of antibiotic resistance, it has become increasingly important to develop alternatives to currently used antibiotics. In our laboratory, we have investigated the structure and function of a number of potentially interesting drug candidates. In the proposed project, we will design and develop a new generation of peptides derived from the two peptides […]

    There have been tremendous advances over the past few decades relating to the synthesis and characterization of nanostructures.  People have fabricated various types of nano-scale particles, rods, tubes, shells, core-shells, etc and ofcourse synthesis of nano-scale molecules has been a goal of organic and inorganic chemistry for a long time. Advances in synthesis and […]

The Kothe research group studies the structure and function of small ribonucleoproteins which are involved in ribosome biogenesis, in particular in modification of ribosomal RNA, with the aim of better understanding how the cell assembles large RNAprotein complexes such as the ribosome. My basic research investigates the mechanism of the early stages in ribosome biogenesis […]

A series of rapid and cost effective analytical methods will be developed to enable routine screening of feedstock material and products.  These techniques include sampling with lasers so that the need for digestion with highly corrisive acids is effectively eliminated.  These techniques will have less waste and use less hazardous materials than traditional methods and […]