Background
The Centre for NanoHealth at Swansea University is a joint project between the University’s School of Engineering, School of Medicine, School of Physical Sciences and ABM University NHS trust and has emerged from imaginative collaborative research between the Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre (MNC) in the School of Engineering and the Institute of Life Science (ILS) in the School of Medicine.
Located within a clinical and biomedical research environment within close proximity to Swansea’s Singleton hospital, the Centre for NanoHealth will provide access to patients within a pioneering, integrated facility in which novel devices and sensors can be designed, manufactured, functionalised, tested and evaluated.
Our Services
- Embedded Class 2 biological facilities for the production and isolation of molecular probes used to investigate biological response in model systems and disease tissue, characterisation at the nano scale of the distribution and fate of biomolecules developed as diagnostic and therapeutic targets, generation of scaffolds for tissue engineering; and state-of-the-art equipment for the engineering of nano-devices used in in-vivo sensing.
- A unique printing laboratory providing an open access facility within a clean room environment for companies to explore and develop printing technologies for healthcare applications. Facilities available for printing biomaterials include screen, ink jet, flexo, gravure, pad printing as well as emerging technologies such as ink jet variants and low stress systems based on atomising technologies.
- Provision for scientists/engineers to work with non-silicon based materials including zinc oxide, smart polymers and carbon-based materials that have huge potential for the development of biosensors.
- Access to expertise in rheometrical techniques, high frequency shear wave propagation, rheo/dielectric analysis, diffusive wave spectroscopy and NMR.
- Large quantity machining services
- Top-down and bottom-up fabrication facilities including electron beam lithography, nanoimprint, isotropic etching, chemical vapour deposition and a non-standard scanning probe microscope with nanoprobe capabilities in air or vacuum.
- Dedicated access to business R&D.
Sectors
Industries able to benefit from our services include:
- Medical device manufactures requiring new sensor technologies to improve performance of current devices, or to expand into new applications
- Pharmaceutical companies looking to develop drug delivery systems; including microfluidics, rheology, nano/micro needle development
- Sensor manufacturers looking to start out in medical applications
- Biosensor developers seeking new biomarkers
- Medical device or biosensor manufactures looking to adopt printing solutions for their technologies for cost effective upscaling
- Companies using nanotechnology in any application who require toxicology testing of their nano based products
- Medical companies working in tissue engineering and smart scaffolds
- Semiconductor industries branching into medical sensor applications
- Semiconductor and other high tech industries wishing to characterise and image devices at the nanoscale
- Equipment manufactures wishing to develop the application of their tools into the sensor and medical arena
