| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/A11274/01 |
| Title: |
AF: ELUCIDATION, QUANTIFICATION & CONTROL OF BIO- SURFACE INTERACTIONS - EXPLOITING THE POTENTIAL AFM |
| Principal Investigator: |
Wright, Dr C |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Chemical & Biological Process Eng |
| Organisation: |
Swansea University |
| Scheme: |
Advanced Fellowship (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 September 2001 |
Ends: |
31 August 2006 |
Value (£): |
248,860
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Biomaterials |
Surfaces & Interfaces |
| Tissue Engineering |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Environment |
Healthcare |
| Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The adhesion of microbial cells to surfaces has far reaching implications in bioprocess engineering, agriculture, medicine and dentistry. The proposed work intends to exploit the state of the art technology of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study, a1 the nanoscale, the cell surface structure and its mechanical properties and relate this to measurements of cell adhesion. Measurement will be made in environments matching those occurring in nature and industry. AFM is unique in that it also allows the direct measurement of the adhesion of a single living cell at a surface. This technique will be used for fundaments research and combined with AFM structural studies to develop a procedure that can be applied to key problems within science and industry. This procedure will be exploited to assess novel microbial adhesion control regimes based or alteration of surface chemistry, such as the polymer coating of surgical implants, or the use of environmental additives, such as probiotic bacteria released to compete with agricultural pest species. The research shares the aims of the EPSRC Life Sciences Initiative and demonstrates how exciting and productive research occurs at the interface of science and engineering. The long-term impact of the research will show how developments in engineering and physical sciences lead to improvements in global resource management and human health care.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.swan.ac.uk |