Chronic wounds are those that fail to heal in an orderly and timely (typically three months) manner. Examples of chronic wounds include diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers and venous leg ulcers. The incidence of chronic wounds is increasing as a result of lifestyle changes and the ageing population. For example, ~552 million people worldwide are estimated to have diabetes mellitus in 2030. Up to an estimated 25% of these patients will develop diabetic foot ulcers in their lifetime; half of these ulcers will be infected and 20% will undergo amputation of their lower limb. The annual economic impact of chronic wounds, which includes nursing time and dressing materials, on the global economy is estimated to be ~£20 billion by 2030. A common practise in wound management is to cover wounds with suitable dressings to facilitate the healing process. Standard dressings, however, do not provide insights into the status of the wound underneath. Thus, dressings are often changed to examine and assess the wound. This in turn hampers the process of normal wound healing and cause stress and pain to patients. The assessment process also consumes a significant amount of nursing time and dressing materials, which contributes to spiralling medical costs in wound care. In addition, current treatment methods do not use physical or chemical feedback to modify or adjust the treatment based on wound's condition, and hence have limited success. It has been proposed to embed sensors in dressings to enable clinicians and nurses to make effective diagnostic and therapeutic wound management decisions without changing wound dressings; therefore improving patient comfort. Existing sensors, however, do not satisfy the operational (e.g. sensitivity, specificity) and physical (e.g. flexibility) characteristics required for embedding them in dressings. This project will develop a sensor system to overcome these limitations. The proposed sensor system will consist of a small laser that will emit light of different colour based on the concentration of a biomarker of interest in the fluid interface at the wound surface. The change in the colour of emitted light will be measured by waving a mobile device (e.g. phone, tablet) over the dressing containing the sensor system. The captured data will be transmitted to healthcare professionals, processed, stored to keep a record of wound history, and used for diagnostics and therapeutics. The proposed project will benefit patients by effective diagnostics and treatment of chronic wounds. The information on wound condition will permit timely identification of hard to heal wounds and will also be used to create a feedback loop for fully optimised treatments tailored to individual patients. For example, the rate of release of anti-inflammatory drugs will be tailored based on wound condition. This is critical in terms of chronic wound management, where it has been shown that the longer the delay in administering appropriate treatment, the more difficult a wound is to heal.

Chronic wounds are those that fail to heal in an orderly and timely (typically three months) manner. Examples of chronic wounds include diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers and venous leg ulcers. The incidence of chronic wounds is increasing as a result of lifestyle changes and the ageing population. For example, ~552 million people worldwide are estimated to have diabetes mellitus in 2030. Up to an estimated 25% of these patients will develop diabetic foot ulcers in their lifetime; half of these ulcers will be infected and 20% will undergo amputation of their lower limb. The annual economic impact of chronic wounds, which includes nursing time and dressing materials, on the global economy is estimated to be ~£20 billion by 2030. A common practise in wound management is to cover wounds with suitable dressings to facilitate the healing process. Standard dressings, however, do not provide insights into the status of the wound underneath. Thus, dressings are often changed to examine and assess the wound. This in turn hampers the process of normal wound healing and cause stress and pain to patients. The assessment process also consumes a significant amount of nursing time and dressing materials, which contributes to spiralling medical costs in wound care. In addition, current treatment methods do not use physical or chemical feedback to modify or adjust the treatment based on wound's condition, and hence have limited success. It has been proposed to embed sensors in dressings to enable clinicians and nurses to make effective diagnostic and therapeutic wound management decisions without changing wound dressings; therefore improving patient comfort. Existing sensors, however, do not satisfy the operational (e.g. sensitivity, specificity) and physical (e.g. flexibility) characteristics required for embedding them in dressings. This project will develop a sensor system to overcome these limitations. The proposed sensor system will consist of a small laser that will emit light of different colour based on the concentration of a biomarker of interest in the fluid interface at the wound surface. The change in the colour of emitted light will be measured by waving a mobile device (e.g. phone, tablet) over the dressing containing the sensor system. The captured data will be transmitted to healthcare professionals, processed, stored to keep a record of wound history, and used for diagnostics and therapeutics. The proposed project will benefit patients by effective diagnostics and treatment of chronic wounds. The information on wound condition will permit timely identification of hard to heal wounds and will also be used to create a feedback loop for fully optimised treatments tailored to individual patients. For example, the rate of release of anti-inflammatory drugs will be tailored based on wound condition. This is critical in terms of chronic wound management, where it has been shown that the longer the delay in administering appropriate treatment, the more difficult a wound is to heal.

Polymers, because of their properties and ease of processing into complex shapes are among the most important materials available to us today and the polymer industry makes a major contribution to the UK economy (18 billion per year). An exciting new family of materials are polymer nanocomposites (NCs), in which particles with nanoscale dimensions are dispersed in the polymer. The benefits of NCs derive primarily from the exceptionally large amounts of particle surface area that can be achieved for a small addition of particles (e.g. 5% by weight). Thus they offer dramatic improvement in material performance with significant increases in mechanical and gas barrier properties. The user of such a material therefore gets a more effective product (or one containing less material for the same effectiveness). It is well recognised that the nanoparticle-polymer interface/chemistry is a critical parameter in determining the degree of dispersion of particles in a nanocomposite and that the interfacial properties have a significant influence on nanocomposite performance. In recent times, however it has become apparent that the processing route by which the nanoparticle-polymer mixture is formed into a final product is an equally important aspect of NC manufacture and this is the area on which we will focus in this proposal.The principal aim of the proposed project is therefore to achieve a fundamental understanding of the interactions between material formulation, processing and properties of polymer nanocomposites and to apply this to the development of proof of concept applications which provide generic processing information for industry and academia alike. The work will include statistically designed experimental studies using pilot scale polymer processing equipment and validation trials on industrial scale equipment. Parameters to be studied include extruder shear and temperature profiles, screw design, additives such as anti-oxidant, post extrusion deformation such as biaxial extension and cooling rates. We will characterise the materials in terms of structure, mechanical, thermal and barrier performance in order to link process to structure and structure to performance.We will utilise the combined processing, characterisation and analytical skills and facilities existing in Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and the University of Bradford (UoB), partners who have worked together successfully on large collaborative projects, in the past and currently, and have an excellent national and international track record in polymer processing research.

Polymers, because of their properties and ease of processing into complex shapes are among the most important materials available to us today and the polymer industry makes a major contribution to the UK economy (18 billion per year). An exciting new family of materials are polymer nanocomposites (NCs), in which particles with nanoscale dimensions are dispersed in the polymer. The benefits of NCs derive primarily from the exceptionally large amounts of particle surface area that can be achieved for a small addition of particles (e.g. 5% by weight). Thus they offer dramatic improvement in material performance with significant increases in mechanical and gas barrier properties. The user of such a material therefore gets a more effective product (or one containing less material for the same effectiveness). It is well recognised that the nanoparticle-polymer interface/chemistry is a critical parameter in determining the degree of dispersion of particles in a nanocomposite and that the interfacial properties have a significant influence on nanocomposite performance. In recent times, however it has become apparent that the processing route by which the nanoparticle-polymer mixture is formed into a final product is an equally important aspect of NC manufacture and this is the area on which we will focus in this proposal.The principal aim of the proposed project is therefore to achieve a fundamental understanding of the interactions between material formulation, processing and properties of polymer nanocomposites and to apply this to the development of proof of concept applications which provide generic processing information for industry and academia alike. The work will include statistically designed experimental studies using pilot scale polymer processing equipment and validation trials on industrial scale equipment. Parameters to be studied include extruder shear and temperature profiles, screw design, additives such as anti-oxidant, post extrusion deformation such as biaxial extension and cooling rates. We will characterise the materials in terms of structure, mechanical, thermal and barrier performance in order to link process to structure and structure to performance.We will utilise the combined processing, characterisation and analytical skills and facilities existing in Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and the University of Bradford (UoB), partners who have worked together successfully on large collaborative projects, in the past and currently, and have an excellent national and international track record in polymer processing research.

The proposal seeks funds to renew and refresh the Centre for Doctoral Training in Formulation Engineering based in Chemical Engineering at Birmingham. The Centre was first funded by EPSRC in 2001, and was renewed in 2008. In 2011, on its 10th anniversary, the Centre received one of the Diamond Jubilee Queen's Anniversary Prizes, for 'new technologies and leadership in formulation engineering in support of UK manufacturing'. The scheme is an Engineeering Doctoral Centre; students are embedded in their sponsoring company and carry out industry-focused research. Formulation Engineering is the study of the manufacture of products that are structured at the micro-scale, and whose properties depend on this structure. In this it differs from conventional chemical engineering. Examples include foods, home and personal care products, catalysts, ceramics and agrichemicals. In all of these material formulation and microstructure control the physical and chemical properties that are essential to its function. The structure determines how molecules are delivered or perceived - for example, in foods delivery is of flavour molecules to the mouth and nose, and of nutritional benefit to the GI tract, whilst in home and personal care delivery is to skin or to clothes to be cleaned, and in catalysis it is delivery of molecules to and from the active site. Different industry sectors are thus underpinned by the same engineering science. We have built partnerships with a series of companies each of whom is world-class in its own field, such as P&G, Kraft/Mondelez, Unilever, Johnson Matthey, Imerys, Pepsico and Rolls Royce, each of which has written letters of support that confirm the value of the programme and that they will continue to support the EngD. Research Engineers work within their sponsoring companies and return to the University for training courses that develop the concepts of formulation engineering as well as teaching personal and management skills; a three day conference is held every year at which staff from the different companies interact and hear presentations on all of the projects. Outputs from the Centre have been published in high-impact journals and conferences, IP agreements are in place with each sponsoring company to ensure both commercial confidentiality and that key aspects of the work are published. Currently there are 50 ongoing projects, and of the Centre's graduates, all are employed and more than 85% have found employment in formulation companies. EPSRC funds are requested to support 8 projects/year for 5 years, together with the salary of the Deputy Director who works to link the University, the sponsors and the researchers and is critical to ensure that the projects run efficiently and the cohorts interact well. Two projects/year will be funded by the University (which will also support a lecturer, total >£1 million over the life of the programme) and through other sources such as the 1851 Exhibition fund, which is currently funding 3 projects. EPSRC funding will leverage at least £3 million of direct industry contributions and £8 million of in-kind support, as noted in the supporting letters. EPSRC funding of £4,155,480 will enable a programme with total costs of more than £17 million to operate, an EPSRC contribution of 24% to the whole programme.