title: Molecular imprinting of small, poorly functionalised organic compounds

authors: Kueh, Alona Swee Hua

subjects: Molecularly imprinted polymers

abstract: Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been compared to natural antibodies in that they can specifically bind target compounds in a similar way that antibodies specifically bind to an antigen.  The attraction of the MIPs technology is the ease of creating binding elements which are relatively cheap compared with the process of isolating natural antibodies.  In this research monoterpenes, such as α-terpineol, were chosen to be the model compounds for investigating the molecular imprinting of small, poorly functionalised organic compounds.  The conventional non-covalent approach was mainly used to synthesise these MIPs, but the sacrificial-spacer semi-covalent approach was also investigated.  A less widely used method, porogen-imprinting - a variant of non-covalent imprinting - was adapted for α-terpineol.  The latter novel terpene MIP appeared to specifically bind α-terpineol, by hydrogen bonding, so the polymer was characterised in detail.  The main parameters which were altered for preparing non-covalent MIPs included the template (α-terpineol, (-)-menthol or trans-terpin); the functional monomer (methacrylic acid, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, bilirubin and phenol [for the semi-covalent MIP]); the cross-linking monomer (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, divinylbenzene and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate); and also the polymerisation method (block or precipitation polymerisation).  The binding specificity and cross-reactivity for all the polymers were tested using a liquid batch-binding setup.  The batch-binding setup required the detection of analyte that was not bound in order to calculate by difference the fraction of analyte bound to the polymer.  Initially the terpenes were to be detected by a colorimetric method; however attempts to make the method sensitive and reliable were not successful.  In comparison, gas chromatography was more reliable for the detection of terpenes and was used for the experiments presented in this thesis.  1H-NMR studies of the interaction between α-terpineol and acetic acid (as a non-polymerisable analogue of methacrylic acid) were investigated as a basis for understanding the binding to the carboxyl functional group moiety employed in many of the non-covalent MIPs that were made.  The interaction between (-)-menthol and phenol was also investigated because the phenol moiety was employed in the semi-covalent MIP.  Only selected MIPs, which appeared to specifically bind the template, were physically characterised.  This included optimising the batch-binding parameters, scanning electron microscopy imaging, surface area and pore radius analysis and in some cases Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy of the polymers.

text: Molecular imprinting of small, poorly functionalised organic compounds Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been compared to natural antibodies in that they can specifically bind target compounds in a similar way that antibodies specifically bind to an antigen.  The attraction of the MIPs technology is the ease of creating binding elements which are relatively cheap compared with the process of isolating natural antibodies.  In this research monoterpenes, such as α-terpineol, were chosen to be the model compounds for investigating the molecular imprinting of small, poorly functionalised organic compounds.  The conventional non-covalent approach was mainly used to synthesise these MIPs, but the sacrificial-spacer semi-covalent approach was also investigated.  A less widely used method, porogen-imprinting - a variant of non-covalent imprinting - was adapted for α-terpineol.  The latter novel terpene MIP appeared to specifically bind α-terpineol, by hydrogen bonding, so the polymer was characterised in detail.  The main parameters which were altered for preparing non-covalent MIPs included the template (α-terpineol, (-)-menthol or trans-terpin); the functional monomer (methacrylic acid, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, bilirubin and phenol [for the semi-covalent MIP]); the cross-linking monomer (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, divinylbenzene and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate); and also the polymerisation method (block or precipitation polymerisation).  The binding specificity and cross-reactivity for all the polymers were tested using a liquid batch-binding setup.  The batch-binding setup required the detection of analyte that was not bound in order to calculate by difference the fraction of analyte bound to the polymer.  Initially the terpenes were to be detected by a colorimetric method; however attempts to make the method sensitive and reliable were not successful.  In comparison, gas chromatography was more reliable for the detection of terpenes and was used for the experiments presented in this thesis.  1H-NMR studies of the interaction between α-terpineol and acetic acid (as a non-polymerisable analogue of methacrylic acid) were investigated as a basis for understanding the binding to the carboxyl functional group moiety employed in many of the non-covalent MIPs that were made.  The interaction between (-)-menthol and phenol was also investigated because the phenol moiety was employed in the semi-covalent MIP.  Only selected MIPs, which appeared to specifically bind the template, were physically characterised.  This included optimising the batch-binding parameters, scanning electron microscopy imaging, surface area and pore radius analysis and in some cases Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy of the polymers.

year: 2008

title: National Kava Forum Report : Moving kava forward in Australia

authors: Manikis, Nic

abstract: The National Kava Forum held on 18 June 2021 was organised by an enthusiastic team from Fair Canberra Inc as the first in a series of forums planned for 2021 on topics of interest to members of our organisation.
Fair Canberra Inc is a not-for-profit community Association incorporated in August 2017 with the objective to advocate for issues of interest and concern to Canberra’s multicultural community groups.
A significant number of members of Fair Canberra Inc have a Pacific Island background and each hold a deep cultural interest in the topic of kava.
Pacific Islander members of Fair Canberra Inc have made it clear that kava has a deep cultural, social and economic significance across the region. They have stressed that kava is not alcohol and does not have hallucinogenic properties nor does it inhibit reasoning or affect driving in the same manner as alcohol or cannabis. Members have further pointed out that scientific evidence shows that kava usage does not cause any serious, long-term health issues.
The National Kava Forum was organised at the request of members of Fair Canberra Inc as they were keen to learn about the Australian Government’s plans for kava importation and wanted their voices heard by those responsible for decision making on the issue.
The National Kava Forum produced valuable feedback from both community representatives and from experts relying on science about the way kava is perceived in Australia.
This report outlines what changes need to be made and how those changes would be best implemented.
This report contains recommendations and insights which I am confident decision makers who are responsible for implementing Government policy on kava related matters would find useful.

text: National Kava Forum Report : Moving kava forward in Australia The National Kava Forum held on 18 June 2021 was organised by an enthusiastic team from Fair Canberra Inc as the first in a series of forums planned for 2021 on topics of interest to members of our organisation.
Fair Canberra Inc is a not-for-profit community Association incorporated in August 2017 with the objective to advocate for issues of interest and concern to Canberra’s multicultural community groups.
A significant number of members of Fair Canberra Inc have a Pacific Island background and each hold a deep cultural interest in the topic of kava.
Pacific Islander members of Fair Canberra Inc have made it clear that kava has a deep cultural, social and economic significance across the region. They have stressed that kava is not alcohol and does not have hallucinogenic properties nor does it inhibit reasoning or affect driving in the same manner as alcohol or cannabis. Members have further pointed out that scientific evidence shows that kava usage does not cause any serious, long-term health issues.
The National Kava Forum was organised at the request of members of Fair Canberra Inc as they were keen to learn about the Australian Government’s plans for kava importation and wanted their voices heard by those responsible for decision making on the issue.
The National Kava Forum produced valuable feedback from both community representatives and from experts relying on science about the way kava is perceived in Australia.
This report outlines what changes need to be made and how those changes would be best implemented.
This report contains recommendations and insights which I am confident decision makers who are responsible for implementing Government policy on kava related matters would find useful.

year: 2021

title: Aihe Pepene

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Sharing the same illustrious whakapapa as his brother Reha Aperahama, Aihe Pepene was prominent when living in the Thames district before settling at Te Aroha in 1878. When speculators tried to acquire the Thames foreshore from Pepene and others in 1870, he became involved in the subsequent legal actions over unpaid promissory notes. Later he would acquire interests in many blocks of land, and received a steady income by leasing or selling these plus his share in the goldfields revenue. When the Aroha Block was considered by the land court for the last time, in 1878, he conducted the case for Ngati Rahiri.
He invested in four Hauraki goldfields, and was briefly an owner and skipper of two small river steamers, an unsuccessful endeavour that resulted in his being forced to sell more land to meet his debts. Once his 1880 and 1881 financial difficulties were resolved, no more such problems recurred. 
A leading rangatira in Hauraki generally as well as at Te Aroha, he would be elected to a Maori Committee that was soon revealed to have no significance. Closely involved with Pakeha, he assisted settlement, and his loyalty to the Crown was illustrated by his becoming an officer in the Thames Native Volunteer Corps. A member of the Church of England for many years, like many Maori he became a Mormon, a faith perhaps more appropriate to his private life, for he had more than one wife, notoriously eloping with the wife of a more senior rangatira despite already being married.

text: Aihe Pepene Sharing the same illustrious whakapapa as his brother Reha Aperahama, Aihe Pepene was prominent when living in the Thames district before settling at Te Aroha in 1878. When speculators tried to acquire the Thames foreshore from Pepene and others in 1870, he became involved in the subsequent legal actions over unpaid promissory notes. Later he would acquire interests in many blocks of land, and received a steady income by leasing or selling these plus his share in the goldfields revenue. When the Aroha Block was considered by the land court for the last time, in 1878, he conducted the case for Ngati Rahiri.
He invested in four Hauraki goldfields, and was briefly an owner and skipper of two small river steamers, an unsuccessful endeavour that resulted in his being forced to sell more land to meet his debts. Once his 1880 and 1881 financial difficulties were resolved, no more such problems recurred. 
A leading rangatira in Hauraki generally as well as at Te Aroha, he would be elected to a Maori Committee that was soon revealed to have no significance. Closely involved with Pakeha, he assisted settlement, and his loyalty to the Crown was illustrated by his becoming an officer in the Thames Native Volunteer Corps. A member of the Church of England for many years, like many Maori he became a Mormon, a faith perhaps more appropriate to his private life, for he had more than one wife, notoriously eloping with the wife of a more senior rangatira despite already being married.

year: 2016