Professor Michael Monteiro
Polymer synthesis, characterization and applications
Professor Monteiro has established an international reputation in the field of 'living' radical polymerization to create complex polymer architectures, including dendrimers, cyclic polymers and polymer nanostructures. His work focuses on building designer polymers for various biomedical applications, including vaccines, drug delivery and stem cells.
Professor Monteiro is currently a UQ Vice Chancellor Fellow and is dedicated to translating research into commercial outcomes, with 7 PCT and provisional patents since 2005 and two start-up company DendriMed Pty Ltd and MetaloTek Pty Ltd. He was awarded an ARC QEII Fellowship in 2004 and an ARC Future Fellowship in 2009. In 2011, he won the Australian Leadership award ADC. He is Editor of European Polymer Journal (Elsevier) and Heliyon (Elsevier), and is on the editorial advisory boards for Biomacromolecules (ACS) (2013- ), Macromolecules (ACS) (2008-2010), and the Journal of Polymer Science Part A Polymer Chemistry (2009-).
Collaborations
Professor Monteiro has built a strong collaboration with Professor Virgil Percec from the University of Pennsylvania to develop and understand the new SET-LRP. He has developed a strong collaboration with Professor Istvan Toth from the University of Queensland to develop self-adjuvanting vaccines against cancer. In collaboration with Professor Eugenia Kumacheva from the University of Toronto and Professor Peter Gray from the University of Queensland, they developed temperature responsive micron-sized particles for encapsulation of cells and the 3D stem cell expansion, respectively.
Funding
Professor Monteiro has attracted ARC and NHMRC grants; and Queensland State Government funding in excess of $7 million.
Key Publications
Whittaker, M. R.; Urbani, C. N.; Monteiro, M. J. "Synthesis of 3-miktoarm stars and 1st generation mikto dendritic copolymers by "living" radical polymerisation and "click" chemistry" J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128, (35), 11360-11361, 2006
Percec, V.; Guliashvili, T.; Ladislaw, J. S.; Wistrand, A.; Stjerndahl, A.; Sienkowska, M. J.; Monteiro, M. J.; Sahoo, S. "Ultrafast Synthesis of Ultrahigh Molar Mass Polymers by Metal-Catalyzed Living Radical Polymerization of Acrylates, Methacrylates, and Vinyl Chloride Mediated by SET at 25 oC" J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128, (43), 14156-14165, 2006
Deng, Z. J.; Liang, M. T.; Monteiro Michael, J.; Toth, I.; Minchin Rodney, F., Nanoparticle-induced unfolding of fibrinogen promotes Mac-1 receptor activation and inflammation. Nature Nanotechnology 2011, 6 (1), 39-44.
Truong, N. P.; Gu, W. Y.; Prasadam, I.; Jia, Z. F.; Crawford, R.; Xiao, Y.; Monteiro, M. J. "An influenza virus-inspired polymer system for the timed release of siRNA" Nat Commun 2013, 4.
Ganachaud, F.; Monteiro, M. J.; Gilbert, R. G.; Dourges, M.-A.; Thang, S. H.; Rizzardo, E. “Molecular weight characterization of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) prepared by living free-radical polymerization” Macromolecules, 33, 6738-6745, 2000.