Professor Dave Dunstan
BSc(Hons)(Uni Melb), PhD(Uni Melb) |
|
Position |
Associate |
Phone Number |
61 3 8344 8261 |
Fax Number |
61 3 8344 4153 |
Department |
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering |
Office Location |
Rm 3.20A, Bld 165 |
Link |
www.chemeng.unimelb.edu.au/people/staff/dunstan.html |
Research Interests
-
Nano and Biomolecular Engineering
- Nanostructured Materials - Light emitting polymers - Polymer dynamics
- Microfluidics - Rheofluorescence
- Biophysics - Drug delivery
- Protein aggregation - Disease - Processing
- Polymer Science
Current research activities are focused in two main areas relating to biophysics and soft condensed matter. The soft condensed matter work involves measurement of polymer dynamics and deformation in flow geometries and the production of devices from conducting polymers.Novel rheofluorescence methods have been developed to investigate polymer dynamics in flow. The biophysics is focused around the development and engineering of therapeutic proteins form various sources and the mechanisms of amyloid fibril formation. We have shown the effect of shear on amyloid formation to be significant. This has implications for a number of related human diseases. We are currently using fluorescent conducting polymers in rheofluorescence measurements to characterize flow regimes in a number of synthetic polymer systems. Several other projects in soft condensed mater are related to the production of fluid gel systems and controlled drug delivery systems using biopolymers. This research is funded by Unilever Vlaadingen.
Other activities
Assistant Dean of Transition & Diversity for the Faculty of Engineering
Professional Affiliations
- American Chemical Society, American Institute of Physics, American Society of Rheology, New York Academy of Sciences
- Australian Society of Rheology, Australian Society of Biotechnology
- Committee Member, International Hydrocolloids Trust
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Honours/Awards
- Grimwade Prize for Industrial Chemistry
Professional Experience
Post doctoral experience at Uppsala University Sweden, University of California, Santa Barbara and Princeton University. Consultancies with a wide range of national and international companies in food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology. Reviewer of papers for 10 scientific publications. Reviewer of Australian Research Council's Grant Proposals.
Selected Publications
D E Dunstan and Y Wei, "Compressive Elasticity in Polymer Couette Flow", Accepted in Eurpoean Physical Journal Applied Physics, Feb 6 (2007)
B Krebs, G Howlett, D G Goodall, E K Hill and D E Dunstan, "Shear flow induces amyloid formation by b-lactoglobulin", Biomacromolecules 7: 10-13 (2006)
D E Dunstan, E K Hill and Y Wei, "Direct Measurement of Polydiacetylene 4-butoxycarbonylmethylurethane Segment Orientation and Distortion in Shear: Semidilute Solutions", Macromolecules 37: 1633-1665 (2004)
M P Dixon, R N Pau, G J Howlett, D E Dunstan, W H Sawyer and B E Davidson, "The Central Domain of Escherichia coli TyrR Is Responsible for Hexamerization Associated with Tyrosine-mediated Repression of Gene Expression", J. Biological Chemistry 277: 23186-23192 (2002)
L Bijada, T Smith and D E Dunstan, "Fluorescene polarization measurements of the local viscosity of hydroxypropyl guar in solution", Macromolecules 35: 2736-2742 (2002)
P Vermette, S Taylor, D E Dunstan and L Meagher, "Control over PEGylated–Liposome Aggregation by Neutravidin-Biotin Interactions Investigated by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy", Langmuir 18: 505-511 (2002)
D E Dunstan and J Stokes, "Diffusing Probe Measurements in Polyelectrolyte Solutions: Deviations from Stokes-Einstein Behaviour", Macromolecules 33: 193-199 (2005)
S J Gason, D E Dunstan, T A Smith, D Y C Chan, L R White and D V Boger, "Rheo-optical Studies of Polydiacetylene Solutions", J. Phys. Chem. 101: 7732-7735 (1997)
D E Dunstan and D A Saville, "Electrophoretic Mobility of Colloidal Alkane Particles in Electrolyte Solutions", J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Transactions 88: 2031-2033 (1992)
D E Dunstan and L R White, "An Electrokinetic Study of Micellar Solutions", J. Colloid and Interface Science 134: 147-151 (1990)