Peter Davies looks at some examples of how emerging technologies are helping to shape products and processes – from medicine through to military jets
Project: Nitric oxide – zeolites
Scientists: Russell Morris, Ian Megson, Adriano Rossi, University of Edinburgh
Year: 2005 (in development)
A material normally used to clean up car exhaust fumes could one day be used in dressings and surgical equipment to prevent severe skin infections and blood clots. According to a newly filed patent, it might even help combat infections by the MRSA superbug. Testing has begun to identify whether zeolites can be used medically to store nitric oxide and deliver the gas to where it is needed.
Project: Tissue Scaffolds
Client: ESPRC and the UK Centre for Tissue Engineering
Scientist: Brian Derby, University of Manchester
Year: 2005
Made-to-measure skin and bones, which could be used to treat burn victims or patients who have suffered severe disfigurements, may soon be a reality using inkjets which can print human cells. Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed the breakthrough technology which will allow tailor-made tissues and bones to be grown, simply by inputting their dimensions into a computer.
Before being fed into the printer, the cells are suspended in a nutrient-rich liquid, not dissimilar to ink, which ensures their survival. The cells are then fed into the printer and seeded directly into the structure as it is built. The printers create three-dimensional structures, known as tissue scaffolds. They are made up of several thin layers of human cells, each 10 microns thick - 1,000 cell layers would measure 1cm thick.
Project: Sensor system
Scientist: BAE Systems in-house team
Year: 2005 - in development
BAE Systems is planning tests of a sensor system for military jets that is capable of listening for cracks in composite and metal structures during flight. The system, which detects sound waves - or acoustic emissions - produced by cracks within aircraft components during flight, is being developed as part of a European defence programme, Ahmos-2, to evaluate various structural health monitoring techniques.
Project: Complex Matters - selective laser sintering
Client: Prior 2 Lever (P2L)
Scientists: Siavash Mahdavi, Sean Hanna
Year: February 2006 (ongoing)
A manufacturing process that can print a pair of bespoke shoes could put an end to ill-fitting footwear and help usher in an era of mass customisation. Complex Matters has developed a method of designing and printing materials with intricate 3D structures. These can be built to incorporate variations in properties such as thickness, density and strength at different points across their length. Initially, the system will be used to make shoes for professional sportspeople.
Project: The world’s longest laser
Scientists: Dr Juan Diego Ania Castañón and colleagues, Aston University
Year: February 2006 (ongoing)
Academics at Aston University in Birmingham, UK have invented the world’s longest laser. They have transformed an optical fibre 75 kilometres long into the laser, which the team hopes will improve long distance transmissions across the World.
Project: Optical binding
Scientists: Colin Bain, University of Durham and Christopher Mellor, National Institute for Medical Research
Year: January 2006 (ongoing)
Scientists in the UK have made 2D arrays of particles that are held together by nothing except light. The optical matter arrays developed by Colin Bain of Durham University and Christopher Mellor, now at the National Institute for Medical Research, consist of polystyrene nanospheres that are trapped by light that has been scattered off a prism. The arrays provide a new way of assembling matter on the nanoscale, and could also shed light on processes inside crystals that take place at even smaller scales
Project: Entangled photons
Scientist: Andrew Shields, Toshiba Research Europe Limited / TREL
Year: January 2006 (ongoing)
Andrew Shields at Toshiba Research Europe Limited in Cambridge, UK, along with colleagues from TREL and the University of Cambridge, has manufactured a silicon chip containing a nanometre-sized quantum dot. This marks a vital step towards making quantum computers a reality.
Project: Arabidopsis thaliana
Scientist: Professor Neil Bruce, Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP), University of York
Year: 2006 (ongoing)
Scientists at the University of York have played a crucial role in developing a way of using plants to clean up land contaminated by explosives Decades of military activity have resulted in pollution of land and groundwater by explosives resistant to biological degradation. Large tracts of land used for military training, particularly in the USA, are contaminated by RDX, one of the most widely-used explosives, which is both highly toxic and carcinogenic. The six-strong CNAP team has isolated a bacterial micro-organism in the soil in contaminated land that can utilise the explosives as a source of nitrogen for growth. But, because RDX is so mobile in soil, the bacteria present are not degrading it quickly enough to stop the contamination of land and ground water. So the York team has redeployed the enzyme in the bacteria into plants, giving them the ability to biodegrade the pollutant more efficiently.
Project: Selective laser melting
Scientist: Dr Chris Sutcliffe, University of Liverpool / MCP
Year: 2005 - 2007
Engineers at the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with MCP (Mining and Chemical Products) Ltd and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) have developed a pioneering manufacturing process that can turn titanium, stainless steel and many other metals into a new breed of engineering components could have a big impact across industry. The new manufacturing system, which represents a highly innovative approach to the production of metal components, is due to be in full commercial use next year. The team is already working on a larger version which should be ready for commissioning in future months.