Materials and Devices for Life Sciences
Professor Hagan Bayley
"My interests lie firmly in basic science, but I also believe that most new technology stems from fundamental research. The underlying principles of nanopore sequencing of DNA and RNA were developed in university laboratories, but the intensity and persistence of Oxford Nanopore were required to produce the MinION: an inexpensive, portable, user friendly speedy sequencing device. EIT offers the opportunity for the end-to-end development of innovative clinical advances, from concept to consummation."
Nanopore technology and tissue engineering are two powerful technologies with untapped potential in medicine and surgery
Nanopore sensing and sequencing
The Bayley group pioneered the development of protein nanopores, enabling a powerful method of detection and quantification of small molecules, which was leveraged to develop ONTs MiniION sequencer. The progression of this technology to additional analytes, including small molecules, proteins and glycans, will expand how a variety of diseases are detected with portable devices.
3D Tissue Engineering
The novel integration of synthetic tissues and fabricated living tissues has the potential for personalised screening of therapeutics for oncology and eventual employment for organ repair. Through further research with bespoke 3D printers and the pioneering of approaches, such as droplectronics, the range of hybrid tissues with therapeutic promise will be greatly expanded.
Materials and Devices for Life Sciences has two key aims
Nanopore technology
To transform diagnostics by leveraging novel nanopore technologies to develop affordable, point-of-care solutions.
- Engineer a portable cost-effective diagnostic, that applies nanopore technology to detect volatiles in human breath.
- Design novel nanopore techniques to analyse the millions of protein forms in tissues, providing a new and powerful means for the diagnosis of dementias, cancer and heart disease.
3D tissue construction
To develop printing and microfluidics devices for tissue engineering. Living tissues will be generated from engineered human stem cells, allowing personalized medical care.
- Produce synthetic tissues, i.e. soft, compartmented materials with applications in tissue engineering.
- Produce tissues fabricated from living cells for the screening of therapeutics and organ repair.
- Explore hybrid tissues built from synthetic tissues and printed living cells.
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