David G. Whitten

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David Whitten has had a long career in academia at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), the University of Rochester and the University of New Mexico. He also spent more than 2 years at Los Alamos before starting a company (QTL Biosystems) with a colleague from Los Alamos. His research is currently focused on conjugated polyelectrolytes and their counterpart small oligomers as antimicrobials and a basis for fluorescent sensors. He continues to study photochemical and photophysical properties of these compounds and materials, a career long aspect of his work.

Professional Experience

• 2016, Distinguished Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering and Department of Chemistry • University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
• 2005 - Present: Co-Director, Center for Biomedical Engineering • University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
• 2005 - 2016: Professor, Department of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering and Department of Chemistry • University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
• 2000 - 2004: Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry • Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
• 2000 - 2005: Cofounder and Chief Technical Officer, QTL Biosystems, LLC.
• 1997-Present: Editor-in-Chief, Langmuir.
• 1995-97: Chair, Department of Chemistry • University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
• 1995-97: Technical Staff Member, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
• 1989-95: Director, NSF Center for Photoinduced Charge Transfer• University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
• 1988-91: Chair, Department of Chemistry • University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
• 1983-97: C. E. Kenneth Mees Professor • University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
• 1980-83: M. A. Smith Professor • University of North Carolina.
• 1975-76: Vice Chairman, Department of Chemistry •University of North Carolina.
• 1973-80: Professor, Department of Chemistry •University of North Carolina.
• 1973-80: Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry •University of North Carolina.
• 1973-80: Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry •University of North Carolina.

Selected Publications:

• Fluorescent Cellulose Wipe as a New and Sustainable Light-Activated Antibacterial and Antiviral Agent, Z Zhang, DG Whitten, A Kell, ACS Materials Letters 4, 356-362, 2022.

• Understanding the Photochemical Properties of Polythiophene Polyelectrolyte Soft Aggregates with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate for Antimicrobial Activity, MY Livshits, J Yang, F Maghsoodi, A Scheberl, SM Greer, MI Khalil, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 13 (47), 55953-55965, 2021.

• Substituted thiophene oligomers and polymers, DG Whitten, D Brown, J Yang, E Strach, M Khalil, US Patent 11,154,059, 2021.

• Rapid and Effective Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 with a Cationic Conjugated Oligomer with Visible Light: Studies of Antiviral Activity in Solutions and on Supports, K Kaya, M Khalil, B Fetrow, H Fritz, P Jagadesan, V Bondu, L Ista, EY Chi, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2021.

• Remembering Françoise Winnik, GC Walker, KS Schanze, DG Whitten, Langmuir 37 (25), 7627-7629, 2021

• Controlled and Selective Photo-oxidation of Amyloid-β Fibrils by Oligomeric p-Phenylene Ethynylenes, AM Fanni, D Okoye, FA Monge, J Hammond, F Maghsoodi, TD Martin, bioRxiv, 2021.