Materials for Healthcare
Our research focuses on renewable biomaterials, biophysics, biomechanics, biosensors, tissue engineering, and antibiofilm surfaces.
Materials for healthcare are specifically designed substances, structures or systems developed to address medical challenges, enhance therapeutic outcomes and improve patient well-being.
These materials are meticulously engineered to interact safely and effectively with biological systems, making them indispensable in a wide array of healthcare applications.
Our research aims
Bridging engineering and medicine, we aim to develop and test innovative solutions that address critical medical challenges.
Our key areas of focus include:
- Antibiofilm materials for medical devices to prevent infections
- Innovative materials for advanced targeted drug delivery
- Advanced materials for disease diagnostics
- Synthetic biology and biomaterials-based scaffolds for tissue engineering to regenerate damaged tissues and organs
- Sustainably sourced renewable biomaterials
- Cutting-edge biosensors leveraging polymers and polymer composites
In addition, our fundamental biophysical research explores interactions between biological cells and biomaterials, offering valuable insights to inform the design of next-generation materials.
Recent projects
In recent years, we have secured approximately £4.5 million in funding from leading organisations, including EPSRC, BBSRC and NBIC.
Notable projects include:
- £1 million EPSRC-funded initiative on slippery antibiofilm coatings for catheters
- £1 million UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship focused on antimicrobial nanocoatings
- EPSRC New Investigator Award dedicated to developing renewable biomaterials from agricultural waste
- EPSRC-funded project advancing innovative drug delivery systems
- EU-funded study exploring the biophysics of bacterial behaviour
Additionally, we have successfully attracted significant industrial funding, fostering collaborations that accelerate the translation and impact of our research.
Addressing future challenges
This robust funding supports our multidisciplinary approach, integrating experimental techniques and multiphysics modeling to tackle pressing challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, disease diagnostics, tissue regeneration and rehabilitation.
Our activities encompass a broad spectrum of applications, including, but not limited to:
- Antimicrobial materials
- Antibiofilm coatings
- Drug delivery systems
- Renewable biomaterials
- Materials for biosensors
- Scaffold materials for tissue engineering.
- Mechanics of biomaterials
- Mechanics of biological materials
- Biophysics of cell-materials interactions
