The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), today, announced a new £5.4 million grant for a research aiming at speeding up the discovery and use of new advanced materials in healthcare.

Professor Morgan Alexander at the University of Nottingham has been awarded the grant to support a programme, Next Generation Biomaterials Discovery.

Professor Alexander is going to lead a multidisciplinary team spanning Engineering, Science and Medical faculties at Nottingham. The team will collaborate with major international groups for realizing the vision of materials discovery in 3D, and at the same time, will aim to keep the UK ahead in the worldwide materials competition. The research has also been committed a £1.1 million contribution by the University of Nottingham.

Professor Alexander said, “Advanced biomaterials are essential components in targeting infectious diseases and cancers, realising the potential of regenerative medicine and the medical devices of the future”.

He added that they are aiming to move beyond the present limited range of generic bioresorbable polymeric drug and cell delivery agents to bespoke materials known to function for specific applications.

With defined chemistry, stiffness, topography and shape of materials, they can control the response of cells.

At Nottingham, the focus of the programme will be on creating and testing large libraries of these attributes in the form of patterned surfaces, particles and more complex architectures. They will identify new materials to use in the areas of targeted drug delivery, regenerative medicine and advanced materials for next generation medical devices.