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Postdoctoral Researchers

Michael Kobina Danquah

  • BSc. (1st Class Honours) Chem. Eng., KNUST - Ghana, 2004
  • Ph.D (Biochemical Engineering), Monash University, Australia, 2008
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Monash University), 2008 – present
  • Office: Room 104, Building 37 Engineering
  • Email: michael.danquah@eng.monash.edu.au

Professional Affiliations

  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), 2007
  • Minority Affairs Committee (MAC), AIChE, 2007
  • Minority Faculty Forum (MFF), AIChE, 2007
  • Monash Infection and Immunity Network (MIIN), Monash University, 2007
  • Australian Biotechnology Organisation (Ausbiotech), 2006
  • National Society of Black Engineers, 2004
  • Ghana Institute of Engineers, 2004
     

Current Research and Professional Interests

  • Nucleic acid-based therapeutics production and analysis
  • Antibody production, immobilization and orientation
  • Engineering and immunoassay development
  • Microbial fermentation science and technology
  • Food processing technology
  • Bioseparation media design and functionalisation
  • Immobilization and surface chemistry of biomolecules
  • Downstream processing and biomolecule purification
  • Drug/vaccine delivery
  • Molecular biological techniques and handling of micro-organisms
  • Molecular protein chemistry and engineering
  • Biomolecular conjugation and interactions
  • Affinity ligand design and characterisation
  • BioMEMS for protein detection
  • Protein transport through mesoporous material,
  • Plant-made vaccines
  • Lipid extraction from algae

Selected Publications and Presentations

  • Danquah M. K, Forde G. M., Large-volume methacrylate monolith for plasmid purification. Process engineering approach to synthesis and application. Journal of Chromatography A (In press, 2008)
  • Danquah M. K, Forde G. M, Preparation of macroporous methacrylate monolithic material with convective flow properties for bioseparation: Investigating the kinetics of pore formation and hydrodynamic performance, Journal of Chemical Engineering (Accepted 2008)
  • Danquah M. K, Jenny Ho, Forde G. M., A thermal expulsion approach to homogeneous large-volume methacrylate monolith preparation; enabling large-scale rapid purification of biomolecules. Journal of Applied Polymer Science (Accepted 2008)
  • Danquah M. K, Forde G. M, The suitability of DEAE-Cl active groups on customized poly(GMA-co-EDMA) continuous stationary phase for fast enzyme-free isolation of plasmid DNA. Journal of Chromatography B, 853 (2007) 38–46
  • Danquah M. K, Forde G. M., Towards the design of a scalable and commercially-viable technique for plasmid purification using a methacrylate monolithic stationary phase. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 82 (2007) 752–757
  • Danquah M. K, Forde G. M., Enhancing methacrylate monolith-based downstream processes to champion plasmid DNA production. Journal of Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, 48 (2007) 85–91
  • Danquah M. K, Jenny Ho, Forde G. M., Performance of R-N(R′)-R″ functionalised poly(glycidyl methacrylate–co–ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolithic sorbent for plasmid DNA adsorption. Journal of Separation Science, 30 (2007) 2843-2850
  • Michael Danquah, Gareth Forde, Rapid therapeutic plasmid DNA isolation: Addressing the looming vaccine crisis. BIOforum Europe Journal, 11/06 (2006):24-25
  • Danquah M. K, Forde G. M., Growth medium selection and its economic impact on plasmid DNA production. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering 104 (6) (2007) 490-497
  • Jenny Ho, Michael Danquah, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, 'Protein Loaded Mesoporous Silica Spheres as a Controlled Delivery Platform’ Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology 83 (2008) 351-358
  • Michael Danquah and Gareth M. Forde, 'Process Engineering Aspects of Plasmid-Based Biopharmaceutical Production: Tackling the Threatening Vaccine Shortages to Prevent Global Pandemics', AIChE Annual Meeting 2007, Utah - US, 2007
  • Michael Danquah and Gareth M. Forde, 'A Scalable and Whole-systems Approach to Therapeutic Plasmid DNA Production: Meeting Fast Turn-Around and Future Demand of Plasmid-Based Biopharmaceutical Products', CHEMECA 2007, Australia, 2007
  • Michael Danquah and Gareth M. Forde, 'Designing a whole-systems approach to therapeutic plasmid DNA manufacture’ Monash Infection and Immunity Network Symposium, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne-Australia, 2007
  • Danquah M. K, Forde G. M., Rapid production of therapeutic plasmid DNA; A fundamental engineering approach to vaccine crisis; Ausbiotech Annual Conference 2006, Sydney, Australia
  • Gareth M. Forde, James R. Friend, Michael Danquah, Ying Han, Jenny Ho, Tom Williamson, Anthony D. Coomes, Fiona K. Giliam, Miranda J. Horsfall, Sid Ghose and Nigel K.H. Slater, ‘Production and Purification of Plasmid DNA’. Fermentation and Bioprocessing National Conference. Fermentation & Bioprocessing Interest Group, AusBiotech, 2006
  • Gareth M. Forde, James Friend, Michael Danquah, Ying Han, Tom Williamson, Anthony Coomes, Fiona Giliam, and Miranda Horsfall, 'Plasmid DNA Purification and Formulation for Vaccine Applications', AIChE Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, US, 2005.
  • Danquah M. K, Arthur L, Sipitey D, Boateng B, Twimasi A., Plant design for the continuous milling of palm oil and palm kernel oil - 1st Edition, UST Printing Press, Kumasi, Ghana, 2004.
  • Danquah M. K, Arthur L, Sipitey D., Mensah M., Development of Environmental Management Assessment Plan (EMAP), Critical Review and Analysis of Vegetable Oil Industry - 1st Edition, TECH Printing Press, Ghana, 2004
  • Danquah M. K, Arthur L, Sipitey D., Govina E., Larbie N., Momade Z., Analysis of different brands of iodated salt on the local market, process development of physical, chemical and bacterial plate count analysis of varieties of iodated salt - 1st Edition, KNUST Printing Press, Ghana, 2003

Postgraduate Researchers

Ying Han

MEng. (Pulp and Papermaking Technology), AIT - BKK, 2003
Email: ying.han@eng.monash.edu.au
Office: 105, building 37

Current work

DNA binding protein affinity ligands for the production and delivery of vaccines

One of the central challenges in delivering vaccine and popular gene therapy products is to develop a vector that is able to safely introduce the product to the target cells. Plasmid DNA as a non-viral gene therapy expression vector has the dual advantages of being free from specific safety concerns associated with viruses and generally simpler to develop. In medical therapy, pDNA may be used to treat monogenic diseases, cancer and infectious diseases. The potential use of pDNA in vaccines has also been shown through the expression of specific antigens on cell membranes that help to stimulate the immune system's response and memory. As a result of these findings, there is an increasing demand on the biotechnology industry to supply purified pDNA for gene therapy, vaccine and research applications. The current purification of plasmid DNA may not be sufficiently specific and may be associated with the co-purification of the impurities such as anionic polymers of a similar structure (i.e. gDNA, RNA, and endotoxins). Affinity purification methods proposed in this research are targeted to overcome the co-purification of contaminants. Affinity purification mechanisms employ a stationary immobilized ligand attached to an insoluble solid phase matrix. A mobile liquid phase containing the target biomolecule is applied to the matrix under conditions that favour its specific binding to the immobilized ligand. Unbound and weakly bound substances are washed away and the substance of interest can be recovered by changing the process conditions to favour the desorption. The development of ligand in this research would simplify pDNA purification systems by requiring only one post-lysis clarification unit operation. The need for large amounts of a new biomolecule such as pDNA can be addressed. Supervisor: Dr. Gareth M Forde

 

Jenny Ho

  • PhD (Bio-Chemical Engineering), 2005 - present
  • Doctoral Thesis: Synthesis of Inorganic-Biodegradable Polymer Composite Particles for Staged Delivery of a Prime-Boost Vaccination
  • BEng. (1st Class Honours) Chemical Engineering, University of Technology Malaysia, 2005
  • Email: jenny.ho@eng.monash.edu.au
  • Tel: +61 3 9905 1867
  • Fax: +61 3 9905 5686
  • Office: Room 202, Building 69 Engineering

Annually, more than 1.3 million deaths and US$535 million in medical expenditure are attributed to unsafe injection practices. Nasal delivery of drugs/vaccines has been an area of interest for the pharmaceutical industries in recent years to overcome the alarming pattern of unsafe injection practices and the poor availability of orally administrated and injectable vaccines. Particles for nasally inhalation offer a non-invasive administration route that will remove the need for injecting vaccines and make vaccines accessible to a larger population. In my PhD project, inorganic-biodegradable polymer composites, which will encapsulate DNA and protein in different segments and enable the staged delivery of a prime-boost vaccine via the nasal tract, will be investigated. These “smart” particles aim to improve the immunization responses from vaccines, and the transportation and presentation of antigen by the antigen presenting cells. Plasmid DNA (pDNA) is gaining increasing interest as a human therapeutic due to its application as a non-viral vector in gene therapy and genetic vaccination. This is attributed to DNA being non-infectious, encoding only the antigen of interest and not containing protein components to which the host may respond. The advent of particulate delivery systems for the administration of DNA through the nasal route is relatively new. The development of an effective carrier system may be the key element in improving and homogenizing the overall immune response to vaccines. In this current study, a novel synthesis of mesoporous silica particles has been developed by using a simple electrolyte and inexpensive commercial inorganic silica colloids (Ho et al., 2007). This new method will offer a great flexibility in tuning or tailoring the pore size of the mesoporous silica spheres to match specific molecules or applications, and to produce large quantities of mesoporous silica spheres for potential use in bio-nanotechnology, drug delivery and inorganic adsorbent applications. Mesoporous silica spheres at the sub-micrometer and micrometer scale (0.5 to 1.6 μm) with a tailored pore size (14.1 to 28.8 nm) has been obtained. Adsorption of protein onto these particles as a controlled delivery platform and the in vitro release profile has been investigated (Ho et al., 2008). Adhesive properties of biodegradable polymer make them suitable for transmucosal delivery applications and prolong the contact time of drugs with the nasal surface. Moreover, these biodegradable polymers can degrade to toxicologically harmless products. In this PhD study, a microencapsulation method using ultrasonic atomization with a concentric feeding is used to synthesize biodegradable polymer microspheres (10-20µm) that encapsulate both the pDNA and mesoporous silica spheres loaded with protein. This method can minimize the contact time between the biopharmaceuticals and organic solvent. The use of ultrasonic atomization for the production of biopharmaceuticals containing biodegradable polymer particles is a comparatively new application (Ho et al., 2008). The advantages of this atomization are the possibility of particle size control, and the fact that it does not require elevated temperature and phase separation inducing agents. This novel technology appears to have the potential for aseptic manufacturing and easy up-scaling for industrial applications.

Publications and Presentations

  • Jenny Ho, Huanting Wang, Gareth M. Forde, ‘Process Considerations related to the Microencapsulation of plasmid DNA via Ultrasonic Atomization’, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, In press.
  • Jenny Ho, Michael Danquah, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, ‘Protein Loaded Mesoporous Silica as a Controlled Delivery Platform’, Journal of Chemical technology and Biotechnology 83 (2008) 351 - 358.
  • Jenny Ho, Wei Zhu, Huanting Wang, Gareth M. Forde, ‘Mesoporous Silica Spheres from Colloids’, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 308 (2007) 374-380.
  • Jenny Ho, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, ‘Inorganic-Organic Composite Particle as a Staged Delivery Platform for Plasmid DNA-Based Biopharmaceuticals’, AIChE Annual Meeting, Utah, US, November 2007.
  • Jenny Ho, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, ‘Synthesis of Mesoporous Silica for Controlled Biomolecule Delivery’, CHEMECA Proceeding, 24-26 September 2007.
  • Jenny Ho, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, ‘Inorganic-Biodegradable Polymer Composite Spheres as a Controlled Vaccine Delivery Platform’, SBE’s 3rd International Conference on Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 12-15 August 2007.
  • Jenny Ho, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, ‘Nasal Delivery Platform for Plasmid DNA Based Vaccines’, Monash University Engineering Research Poster Competition, August 2007. (Runner-Up Best Engineering Research Poster Award)
  • Jenny Ho, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, ‘Mesoporous Silica and Polymer Hybrid Structure for Controlled Biopharmaceuticals Delivery’, Monash Infection and Immunity Network Symposium, 28 June 2007.
  • Jenny Ho, Gareth M. Forde, Huanting Wang, ‘Nanoparticles-Biodegradable Polymer Particle for Staged Delivery of a Prime-Boost Vaccination’, Bioengineering Symposium, Monash University, 2005. (Best Poster Award)
     

Professional Affiliations

  • 2006 – Present Student Member, Engineers Australia
  • 2007 – Present Complimentary Student Membership, AusBiotech Student Association
  • 2007 – Present Graduate Members, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
  • 2007 – Present Graduate Members, Society for Biological Engineering (An AIChE Technological Community)

 

Shan Liu

  • Bioengineering, HZAU, China, 2007
  • Office: RM 117, BLDG 37 (Picture 13)
  • Email: shan.liu@eng.monash.edu.au
  • Supervisor: Dr. Gareth M Forde
     

Current Work

Synthesis and delivery of a biodegradable polymer encapsulated malaria DNA vaccine

Each year up to 2.7 million people die as a result of malaria, caused by infection with Plasmodium falciparum. Currently available malaria control measures could be enhanced by plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccines to activate both cell-mediated immunity and classical humoral responses. Compared to conventional vaccines, pDNA-based vaccines have advantages with respect to stability, safety, mobility and expense.

Despite significant benefits, pDNA vaccines depend on hosts to produce antigen and then induce specific immune responses. Therefore, efficient transfection is required to generate sufficient quantities of antigen. Nevertheless the transfection efficiency of naked pDNA does not meet the threshold value. Post administration, naked pDNA is susceptible to degradation by serum enzymes. Upon entry into a host cell, the transport of pDNA across cell membranes is still limited by the large hydrodynamic diameters and negative surface charge of pDNA. After endocytosis, the pDNA travels through the endosome-lysosome compartment, where it may be degraded. Given these problems, biodegradable polymer encapsulated pDNA vaccines are necessary. This research aims to achieve significant improvements in the synthesis and delivery of malaria vaccine particles suitable for intramuscular administration.