• Research groupings
• Marine and Freshwater Science
• Wildlife and Landscape Ecology
• Palaeobiology and Global Change
• Ecophysiology, Sensory Ecology and Behaviour
• Biomolecular Sciences
• Chemistry and Forensic Sciences
• General Research Information
• Seminar programs
• Conferences
• PhD students
• Honours 2010

Chemistry and Forensic Sciences

The Chemistry and Forensic Sciences research group is based at the Geelong campus at Waurn Ponds. Research within the group focuses on the isolation, synthesis, processing and detection of compounds, especially those with biological activity. There is a strong link between Chemistry and Forensic Sciences research and innovations and research in Chemical Education. The group members include winners of the RACI Analytical Chemistry Medal, the RACI Chemical Education Medal, the BioNova Research Excellence Award, the RACI Robert Cattrall Early Career Medal, Geelong Researcher of the Year Award, the RACI Jim O'Donnell International Award, and the Golden Key Asia-Pacific Postgraduate Student Award.

Group coordinator

Professor Neil Barnett
Professor of Analytical Chemistry
Waurn Ponds Campus at Geelong
Phone: +61 3 522 71409
Email: neil.barnett@deakin.edu.au

Key research areas

• Detection, isolation and characterisation of natural products
• Use of chemiluminescence for the qualitative and quantitative determination of pharmaceuticals, antioxidants in food, other biologically active molecules, and explosives
• Utilisation of microfluidic devices separation and detection
• Comprehensive two-dimensional HPLC for characterisation of complex natural product samples
• Supramolecular anion recognition and sensing using conformationally preorganised frameworks
• Synthesis of new antibiotics based on polymyxins and the defensins
• Indole and related antidiabetic agents targeting PPAR receptors
• Omega-3 fatty acids, biotechnology and bioprocessing
• Fermentation of marine microorganisms
• Alzheimer's disease and amyloid inhibitors
• Application of physical chemistry and computational chemistry methods to chemical “problems”
  Chemical Education
• Forensic Science, especially the use of natural products for fingerprinting reagents and the recovery of erased serial numbers

Academic and research staff

Dr Jacqui Adcock
Professor Neil Barnett
Professor Colin Barrow
Dr Xavier Conlan
Ms Gail Dyson
Dr Paul Francis
Dr Luke Henderson (Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Fellow)
Assoc Prof Kieran Lim
Dr Fred Pfeffer