Pharmacists at Bradford university have developed a hydrogel that they believe might be used to contain oil spills from fuel tankers. In addition, the gel may be suitable for use as a dressing and to help to promote skin growth in burns victims.
Dr Donald Eagland (senior lecturer in pharmaceutical chemistry, University of Bradford) told The Journal recently that the substance was made up of water soluble polymers that set into a hydrogel upon the addition of a catalyst. The hydrogel had been discovered during general research into polymers. When computer modelling of the substance's properties was undertaken, the researchers realised that it had "unique" aggregation properties and formed a stacked micelle.
According to Dr Eagland, the gel can be sprayed on to oil spills, whereupon it forms a rubbery mat that can be rolled up and removed. The absorbed oil can then be separated from the gel and recycled. When asked about possible medical uses, Dr Eagland suggested that growth factors or antibiotics could be added to the hydrogel before it was applied to the skin as a dressing. Alternatively, they could be added to the dressing as skin cells grew. When the dressing was no longer needed, it could be washed off with water, he said.
In the future, it might be possible to control the speed of gelling of the polymer, which might allow development of oral modified release systems and an injectable preparation. Potential applications for this might include using the hydrogel as a vehicle for the injection of chondrocytes and collagen into joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis, thereby stimulating growth of a new joint surface, Dr Eagland said.
Another success story from the school of pharmacy at Bradford university is that of Bradford Particle Design (BPD), which is set to open its new production facility in Bradford in early June.
The company was established in 1994, to develop and exploit a patented technology called "solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids" (SEDS), which can be used for controlling the formation of uniform drug particles, a requirement in the development of pharmaceuticals. The SEDS technology resulted from work carried out at the university by Dr Mazen Hanna, when he was a PhD student in the school of pharmacy under the supervision of Professor Peter York (professor of physical pharmaceutics).
BPD is now collaborating with major pharmaceutical companies, including Astra Zeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Glaxo Wellcome, to develop the technology for commercial application. The company says that the BPD business strategy is to provide clients with a comprehensive and fully supported service for supplying materials by the SEDS process - from early development and formulation studies, through clinical trial supplies, to manufacturing scale. Speaking at a recent press briefing, Professor York, chief scientist at BPD, said of the possible applications for SEDS: "We don't yet know the boundaries of the technology that we have in our hands. Boundaries are being defined by the applications that clients are interested in."
The new plant, which will be used for scale up purposes, will be officially opened on June 9 by Mr Stephen Byers, Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry.