University of Ulster opens Nanotechnology Research Institute

The University of Ulster has opened a new Nanotechnology Research Institute at its Jordanstown campus in Northern Ireland.

The £8m research institute will position Northern Ireland at the forefront of nanotechnology research in the UK, and will be a catalyst for future growth in the biotechnology, medical devices and textile industrial sectors.

Funded by investment from EU, research councils, HEFCE, industry and Invest Northern Ireland, the new facility will focus on research into: bio-sensing, tissue-engineering, drug delivery, surface science, nano-tubes, plasma technology, nano-scale patterning and nano-scale manipulation.

'This new Nanotechnology Research Institute will build on our existing nanotechnology research partnerships,' said the Director of the Institute, Professor Jim McLaughlin. 'Uniquely in the UK or Ireland, we're bringing life sciences and cell biology under the same roof as nanotechnology - and that kind of structural integration and cross-fertilisation of ideas will be invaluable in the development of new process and technologies in the future.

'The ability to arrange atoms through new processing techniques, modifications to atomic surfaces or molecules, or by interrogating DNA at the nanoscale has exciting device applications that can lead - via improved bio-devices - to a better quality of life, improved wealth creation and a stronger base to fully develop our new knowledge based economy,' he added.

The new Institute will be heavily involved in knowledge transfer - leveraging university research for the benefit of industry and commerce. Already, said Professor McLaughlin, spin-out ventures are being developed in the areas of new biological sensors, nano-scale coatings and nano-fabricated drug delivery.