David W. Johnson, PhD, CChem, FRACI
Head of Mass Spectrometry Services

Awarded a PhD degree in synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Adelaide in 1976. Postdoctoral research assistant in the Dept of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, U.K. in 1976. Involved in research into the biosythesis of type III porphyrins with Prof Sir Alan Battersby. Worked as a Senior Research Officer in the Dept of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, S. Australia from 1977-1985. Developed procedures to identify disorders in pregnancy and male fertility using stable isotopes and mass spectrometry with Dr Robert Seamark and Prof Lloyd Cox. Transferred to the Dept of Chemical Pathology, Adelaide Children’s Hospital in 1986. Worked as a Senior Research Officer on abnormal fatty acids and lipids found in children with inherited peroxisomal disorders using mass spectrometry with Prof Alf Poulos. In 1993 appointed as Principal Medical Scientist in charge of the Mass Spectrometer Facility at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Research interests:

• Applications of stable isotopes and mass spectrometry to the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of inherited diseases.
• Synthesis of isotope labeled compounds for biomedical research.
• Development of new chemical derivatization methods for electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.
  
  
  

Recent publications:

Poulos, A., Stockham, PC., Johnson, D.W., Paton, B.C., Beckman, K. and Singh, H. Metabolism of trideuterated iso-lignoceric acid in rats in vivo and in human fibroblasts in culture. Lipids (1999) 34: 943 - 949.

Johnson, D.W. Inaccurate measurement of free carnitine by the electrospray tandem mass spectrometry screening method for blood spots. J. Inher. Metab. Dis. (1999) 22: 201 - 202.

Johnson, D.W. Dimethylaminoethyl esters for trace, rapid analysis of fatty acids by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. (1999) 13: 2388 – 2393.

Johnson, D.W. A rapid screening procedure for the diagnosis of peroxisomal disorders: quantification of very long chain fatty acids, as dimethylaminoethyl esters, in plasma and blood spots, with an electrospray tandem mass spectrometer. J. Inher. Metab. Dis. (2000) 23: 475 - 486.

Johnson, D.W. Alkyldimethylaminoethyl ester iodides for improved analysis of fatty acids by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid. Commun. Mass Spectrom. (2000) 14: 2019 - 2024.

Johnson, D.W., Ten Brink, H.J., Schuit, R.C. and Jakobs, C. Rapid and quantitative analysis of unconjugated C27 bile acids in plasma and blood samples by tandem mass spectrometry. J. Lipid Res. (2001) 42: 9 - 16.

Johnson, D.W. Analysis of alcohols, as dimethylglycine esters, by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. J. Mass Spectrom. (2001) 36: 277 - 283.

Whitfield, P.D., Sharp, P.C., Johnson, D.W., Nelson, P. and Meikle, P.J. Characterisation of urinary sulphatides in metachromatic leukodystrophy using electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. Mol. Genet.Metab. (2001) 73: 30 - 37.

Li, J., Milne R.W., Nation R.L., Turnidge J.D., Coulthard K. and Johnson, D.W. A simple method for the assay of colistin in human plasma, using pre-column derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate in solid-phase extraction cartridges and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. J Chromatogr. B (2001) 761: 167 – 175.

Johnson, D.W., Ten Brink, H.J. and Jakobs, C. A rapid screening procedure for cholesterol and dehydrocholesterol by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. J. Lipid Res. (2001) 42: 1699 – 1705.

Johnson, D.W. Analysis of amino acids as formamidene butyl esters by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Comm.Mass Spectrom. (2001) 15: 2198 – 2205.

Contact

Telephone: 61-8- 8161 7197
Facsimilie: 61-8- 8161 7100
Email: david.johnson@adelaide.edu.au