We provided 20 researchers with an opportunity to acquire and blend a number of disciplines through a secondment to a different country and a different sector. Secondees had the opportunity to develop important transferrable skills through a series of formal training activities and consortium workshops. The training and experience of the researchers seconded to the SME’s is equipping them with the knowledge and skills and insights into commercialization of academic research. Similarly the researchers t seconded from the SMEs to UoN gained exposure to and utilizing state of the art approaches not available within their company. Wider dissemination to the home beneficiary of knowledge gained by the secondees during secondment is supported through local presentations on their return.
Progress on our scientific objectives is summarized below:
(a) The generation of routine cell isolation protocols for improved drug screening and toxicity testing applications
The activities of ABIEL in FutForm are focused on the optimization of the isolation protocols of hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes from liver and heart, respectively. The production of recombinant collagenases, class I and class II separately, gave the possibility to generate a specific formulation of collagenases in association with a proteolytic enzyme, for each specific extraction process. Optimized protocols for cell extraction resulted from this activity and the benefits of the cell extraction process evaluated in research projects based at UoN, focused on sensor development and drug-delivery.
(b) The development of new nanoparticle formulation/manufacturing methods for oral drug – delivery.
The activities of Inovapotek and UoN within FutForm havefocussed on generating robust strategies for the manufacture of nano (and micro) particles with tunable properties. Optimized protocols have been developed for the development of PLGA nanoparticles, and these were evaluated as a potential drug-delivery system for insulin via the oral route.The collaboration here, has led to new collaborative links between UoN and Inovapotek where this work is being further extended.
(c) The evaluation and safety testing of new biomaterial nanoparticles for topical drug-delivery.
The activities of Inovapotek and UoN within FutForm have resulted in new protocols to produce and evaluate nanoparticles for transdermal drug-delivery, and new approaches to evaluate the delivery of actives to the skin (including vitamin C). The collaboration has increased awareness of the approaches employed for the evaluation of the clinical efficacy of such formulations in both partners, and importantly has revealed new opportunities for the application of UoN approaches for the analysis of skin and hair.
(d) The generation of optimized injectable hydrogel formulations for cartilage repair.
The activities of Hy2Care and UoN in this area have focussed on gaining an improved understanding of the key components of the hydrogel technology which Hy2Care are developing for cartilage repair. Improved characterization of the polymeric components and also the enzyme required for crosslinking, has already enabled optimization of the formulation. Recent secondments have focussed on exploring how the presence of cells and other proteins modifies the properties of the hydrogel and the application of 3D printing technologies.
