CSIRO researchers have discovered a new class of fatty acids ?
alpha-hydroxy polyacetylenic fatty acids ? that could be used as sensors for
detecting changes in temperature and mechanical stress loads.
CSIRO Entomology business manager, Cameron Begley, said researchers
believed the discovery opened up an entirely new class of chemistry.

?Some of these alpha-hydroxy polyacetylenic fatty acids act as
indicators for a range of different conditions, such as mechanical stress or
heat, and display self-assembling properties. Others display anti-microbial
properties,? he said.

?Australian scientists working within the Crop Biofactories
Initiative (CBI) have also been developing applications for alpha-hydroxy
unsaturated fatty acids (AHUs).

?Alpha-hydroxy fatty acids (AHA?s) are well known to industry, but we
have found some interesting applications for AHUs. We have introduced them
to a range of bio-based condensation polymer systems that have increased
film flexibility. Using these AHUs we have also observed strong adhesion
between polyolefins and a range of substrates.?

CBI researchers have also identified novel uses for hydroxy fatty
acids and how these affect polymer properties.

The team will be outlining these discoveries on 28 April during the
Fifth Annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing
(WCIBB), being held in Chicago, Illinois, from 27-30 April 2008.

The CBI is a 12-year project which aims to add value to the Australian
agricultural and chemical industries by developing technologies to produce
novel industrial compounds from genetically modified oilseed crops. This
Initiative is a joint venture between CSIRO and the Grains Research and
Development Corporation.

The project focuses on three key areas; Industrial Oils, Complex
Monomers and Protein Biopolymers. CBI project leaders will present the
latest research findings in each of these three areas at the WCIBB in
Chicago which will showcase innovation at the convergence of biotechnology,
chemistry and agriculture.


[www.csiro.au]