Research interests centre on the redox chemistry and mechanistic aspects underlying free radical damage to biomolecules, including DNA and proteins. While such radical reactions are deleterious to normal cells in the body, they can offer a means to attack certain diseases such as cancer. Radical reactions occur very quickly, often on the millionth of a second timescale, requiring fast-detection techniques for their study. The FRR Group uses short (nanosecond) pulses of high energy electrons from a 4MV linear accelerator to initiate radical reaction (pulse radiolysis) combined with fast spectrophotometry and conductivity detection for observations to be made in real time. Radical intermediates can also be identified using radical trapping agents followed by electron paramagnetic resonance to obtain finger print spectra. Steady-state radiolysis is used to produce products from radical reactions for analysis.
The Pulse Radiolysis Facility is a regional resource supporting health-related research by both NZ and Australian scientists under the AINSE program
