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Professor Peter A Lay, FAA


Contact Details

ARC Professorial Fellow and Professor of Inorganic Chemistry
Room 307
School of Chemistry, Building F11
The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
E: peter.lay@sydney.edu.au
T: +61 (2) 9351 4269
F: +61 (2) 9351 3329

Career Profile

  • BSc, Melbourne, 1977
  • PhD, ANU, 1981
  • CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, 1981-1983
  • CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellow, CSIRO Division of Applied Organic Chemistry, 1983-1984
  • Queen Elizabeth II Fellow, Deakin University, 1984-1985
  • Visiting Fellow, ANU, 1983-1985
  • University of Sydney; Lecturer, 1985-1988; Senior Lecturer, 1989-1993; Reader, 1994-1996, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, 1997 -
  • Rennie Medal, 1987
  • Edgeworth David Medal (Royal Society of NSW), 1988
  • Visiting Professor, University of Berne, 1991
  • Associate Head of School (Research), 1997-2001
  • Distinguished Visiting Professor, National University of Argentina, Rosario, 1999
  • Associate Director (Bio-Metals), Centre for Heavy Metals Research, 2000-2008
  • Head of School, 2001-2002
  • ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, 2002-2007
  • Academic Director, Foundation for Inorganic Chemistry at The University of Sydney, 2005-
  • ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, 2009-2013

Areas of Interest

  • Cr- and Ni-induced cancers
  • Vanadium and Cr(III) anti-diabetic drugs
  • Ruthenium and gallium anti-cancer drugs
  • X-ray absorption spectroscopy of drugs, biological fluids, cells and tissues
  • Vibrational spectroscopic imaging and mapping of cells and tissues in drug treatments and understanding diseases
  • Structural and spectroscopic studies of heme proteins
  • Electrochemistry
  • Copper anti-inflammatory drugs
  • Fullerene and fulleride electrochemistry and spectroscopy
  • Inorganic reaction mechanisms
  • Solvation, pi-backbonding and pi-bonding effects on reactivity of transition metal complexes

Research

Bioinorganic Chemistry: Various aspects of the chemistry, biochemistry and cell biology of transition metal complexes of Cr and Ni (occupational cancers), V and Cr(III) (anti-diabetic agents), Ga and Ru (anti-cancer agents), Fe (heme proteins), and Cu (anti-inflammatory drugs) have been studied. A wide variety of spectroscopic, structural, biochemical and cell biology techniques have been employed to understand better the bioinorganic chemistry of these transition metals and to develop protective dietary protocols for metal induced cancers and to develop new potential pharmaceuticals.

Biospectroscopy, Imaging, and Mapping: Complementary imaging and mapping using X-ray absorption (synchrotron-induced X-ray emission, X-ray absorption near edge-structure), proton-induced X-ray emission, vibrational (FTIR and Raman), phase-contrast (X-ray and visible), fluorescence, and other spectromicroscopies are being used to study changes in biodistributions and concentrations of elements and biochemicals in cells and tissues as a result of diseases processes and their treatment.  Biospectroscopy is also being used to develop new disease diagnostics.  Diseases being studied include, cancer, diabetes, graft-versus host disease, malaria, meningitis, Parkinson's disease and other bacterial and viral infections.

Physical Inorganic Chemistry: A large range of spectroscopic, electrochemical and structural techniques has been used to gain fundamental insights into chemical reactivity of transition metal complexes and solvation effects on chemical reactivity. This also includes detailed studies of fullerenes and fullerides.

Publications (2009 to 2013)

  1. Bartholomäus, R; Irwin, JA; Shi, L; Smith, SM; Levina, A and Lay, PA. Isolation, characterization, and nuclease activity of biologically relevant chromium(V) complexes with monosaccharides and model diols. Likely intermediates in chromium-induced cancers. Inorganic Chemistry, 52 (8), 4282-4292, 2013. DOI: 10.1021/ic3022408

  2. Aitken, JB; Shearer, EL; Giles, NM; Lai, B; Vogt, S; Reboucas, JS; Batinic-Haberle, I; Lay, PA and Giles, GI. Intracellular targeting and pharmacological activity of the superoxide dismutase mimics MnTE-2-PyP5+ and MnTnHex-2-PyP5+ regulated by their porphyrin ring substituents. Inorganic Chemistry, 52 (8), 4121-4123, 2013. DOI: 10.1021/ic300700g

  3. Levina, A; Aitken, JB; Gwee, YY; Lim, ZJ; Liu, M; Singharay, AM; Wong, PF and Lay, PA. Biotransformations of anticancer ruthenium(III) complexes: An X-ray absorption spectroscopic study. Chemistry: A European Journal, 19 (11), 3609-3619, 2013. DOI: 10.1002/chem.201203127

  4. Hackett, MJ; Lee, J; El-Assaad, F; McQuillan, JA; Carter, EA; Grau, GE; Hunt, NH and Lay, PA. FTIR imaging of brain tissue reveals crystalline creatine deposits are an ex vivo marker of localized ischemia during murine cerebral malaria: General implications for disease neurochemistry. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 3 (12), 1017-1024, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/cn300093g

  5. Bartholomäus, R; Harms, K; Levina, A and Lay, PA. Synthesis and characterization of a chromium(V) cis-1,2-cyclohexanediolato complex: A model of reactive intermediates in chromium-induced cancers. Inorganic Chemistry, 51 (21), 11238-11240, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/ic301900q

  6. George, GN; Pickering, IJ; Pushie, MJ; Nienaber, K; Hackett, MJ; Ascone, I; Hedman, B; Hodgson, KO; Aitken, JB; Levina, A; Glover, C and Lay, PA. X-ray-induced photo-chemistry and X-ray absorption spectroscopy of biolgoical samples. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 19 (6), 875-886, 2012. DOI: 10.1107/S090904951203943X

  7. Aitken, JB; Lay, PA; Duong, TTH; Aran, R; Witting, PK; Harris, HH; Lai, B; Vogt, S and Giles, GI. Synchrotron radiation induced X-ray emission studies of the antioxidant mechanism of the organoselenium drug ebselen. Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 17 (4), 589-598, 2012. DOI: 10.1007/s00775-012-0879-y

  8. Levina, A and Lay, PA.  Metal-based anti-diabetic drugs: Advances and challenges. Dalton Transactions, 40 (44), 11675-11686, 2011. DOI: 10.1039/c1dt10380f

  9. Hackett, MJ; Siegele, R; El-Assaad, F; McQuillan, JA; Aitken, JB; Carter, EA; Grau, GE; Hunt, NH; Cohen, D and Lay, PA. Investigation of the mouse cerebellum using STIM and m-PIXE spectrometric and FTIR spectroscopic mapping and imaging. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 269 (20), 2260-2263, 2011. DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2011.02.034

  10. Hackett, MJ; McQuillan, JA; El-Assaad, F; Aitken, JB; Levina, A; Cohen, DD; Siegele, R; Carter, EA; Grau, GE; Hunt, NH and Lay, PA. Chemical alterations to murine brain tissue induced by formalin fixation: Implications for biospectroscopic imaging and mapping studies of disease pathogenesis. Analyst, 136 (14), 2941-2952, 2011. DOI: 10.1039/c0an00269k

  11. Aitken, JB; Levina, A and Lay, PA. Studies on the biotransformations and biodistributions of metal-containing drugs using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, 11 (5), 553-571, 2011. DOI: 10.2174/156802611794785217

  12. Bonin, AM; Yáñez, JA; Fukuda, C; Teng, XW; Dillon, DT; Hambley, TW; Lay, PA and Davies, NM. Inhibition of experimental colorectal cancer and reduction in renal and gastrointestinal toxicities by copper-indomethacin in rats. Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, 66 (4), 755-764, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/s00280-009-1220-5

  13. Finney, L; Chishti, Y; Khare, T; Giometti, C; Levina, A; Lay, PA and Vogt, S. Imaging metals in proteins by comining electrophoresis with rapid X-ray fluorescence mapping. ACS Chemical Biology, 5 (6), 577-587, 2010. DOI: 10.1021/cb1000263

  14. Levina, A; Zhang, L and Lay. PA. Formation and reactivity of chromium(V)-thiolato complexes: A model for the intracellular reactions of carcinogenic chromium(VI) with biological thiols. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132 (25), 8720-8731, 2010. DOI: 10.1021/ja101675w

  15. Carter, EA; Rayner, BS; McLeod, AI; Wu, LE; Marshall, CP; Levina, A; Aitken, JB; Witting, PK; Lai, B; Cai, Z; Vogt, S; Lee, Y-C; Chen, C-I; Tobin, MJ; Harris, HH and Lay, PA. Silicon nitride as a versatile growth substrate for microspectroscopic imaging and mapping of individual cells. Mol. BioSyst., 6 (7), 1316-1322, 2010. DOI: 10.1039/c001499k

  16. Liu, M; Lim, ZJ; Gwee, YY; Levina, A and Lay, PA. Characterization of a ruthenium(III)/NAMI-A adduct with bovin serum albumin that exhibits a high anti-metastatic activity. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 49 (9), 1661-1664, 2010. DOI: 10.1002/anie.200906079

  17. Aitken, JB; Carter, EA; Eastgate, H; Hackett, MJ; Harris, HH; Levina, A; Lee, Y-C; Chen, Ch-I; Lai, B; Vogt, S and Lay, PA. Biomedical applications of X-ray absorption and vibrational spectroscopic microscopies in obtaining strcutral information from complex systems. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 79 (2), 176-184, 2010. DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2009.03.068

  18. Levina, A; Mitra, A and Lay, PA. Recent developments in ruthenium anticancer drugs. Metallomics, 1 (6), 458-470, 2009. DOI: 10.1039/b904071d

  19. Sargeson, AM and Lay, PA. Dependence of the properties of cobalt(III) cage complex as a function of the derivatization of amine substituents. Aust. J. Chem., 62 (10), 1280-1290, 2009. DOI: 10.1071/CH09368

  20. Carter, EA; Tam, KK; Armstrong, RS and Lay, PA. Vibrational spectroscopic mapping and imaging of tissues and cells. Biophys. Rev., 1 (2), 95-103, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/s12551-009-0012-9

  21. Zeng, AP; Bilek, MMM; McKenzie, DR and Lay, PA. Correlation of film structure and molecular oxygen reduction at nitrogen doped amorphous carbon thin film electrochemical electrodes. Diamond and Related Materials, 18 (9), 1102-1108, 2009. DOI: 10.1016/j.diamond.2009.02.013

  22. Harris, HH; Vogt, S and Lay, PA. Response to Guzzi & Pigatto's comments on migration of mercury from dental amalgam through human teeth by H. H. Harris et al. (2008). J. Synchrotron Rad. 15, 123-128. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 16, 437-438, 2009. DOI: 10.1107/S0909049509005706

  23. Duong, TTH; Witting, PK; Antao, ST; Parry, SN; Kennerson, M; Lai, B; Vogt, S; Lay, PA and Harris, HH. Multiple protective activities of neuroglobin in cultured neuronal cells exposed to hypoxia re-oxygenation injury. Journal of Neurochemistry, 108 (5), 1143-1154, 2009. DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2008.05846.x

  24. Levina, A; Codd, R and Lay, PA. Chromium in cancer and dietary supplements. Book chapter in: Biological Magnetic Resonance: High Resolution EPR Applications to Metalloenzymes and Metals in Medicine. ISBN:  978-0-387-84856-3, Editors: GR Hanson and LJ Berliner, Published by Springer, 28, 551-579, 2009.