GLOBAL - Promoting research partnerships in Advanced Materials for Healthcare

该计划将专注于加强和进一步发展我校与中国大学顶尖研究人员的成功研究联系，满足英国和中国在医疗先进材料战略领域的一致需求，旨在医疗技术和药物输送，并在我们成功的科学桥梁中国计划的基础上再接再厉。长期项目的总体目标是帮助满足英国和中国不断增长的医疗需求。2011年7月，威廉和万部长将中国确定为英国-中国合作研究的三个优先事项之一。该计划包括研究项目以及一系列网络和培训活动。这些研究项目都在医疗保健先进材料领域，分为3个相互关联的流：流1：微模塑、微挤出和规模效应；流2：聚合物和聚合物纳米复合材料的固相取向；流3：增强的药物输送和生物利用度。我们的建议涉及通过精密加工控制选定的先进材料的结构，以实现增强的、可控的性能，用于医疗器械和技术。我们将探索聚合物和聚合物纳米复合材料及其混合物，以开发具有新的物理性能(导电性、强度、硬度或扩散行为)或新产品(包括医疗设备，如牙科治疗、眼科手术设备、植入性设备(包括用于脊柱修复的关节镜固定和矫形植入物))、药物输送系统(例如微针阵列或药物洗脱支架)和诊断设备(微流体、光学系统)的材料。我们还将探索药物，以提高药物的传递方式和药物的生物利用度。更高的生物利用度意味着在治疗患者时可以使用更少的药物来达到给定的效果，这可以通过不同的途径实现，例如在片剂、贴片等的加工过程中修改药物结构(例如共结晶)以提高药物在患者中的溶解度，或者通过使用超临界流体改变药物的物理颗粒大小和形状。NETWORKS&Trading是真正的“人民桥梁”活动-在研究人员之间建立信任的纽带，培养年轻的工作人员，促使团队相互合作，开拓新的机会和共同应对挑战。将使用各种机制来促进人员、桥梁和随后的协作项目和产出。其中包括在我们广泛的当前科学桥梁中国网络的基础上，进一步发展我们与英国-中国最先进的研究网络，在该网络中，我们与18所中国领先的大学和机构在医疗技术领域进行了研究合作。我们将继续积极邀请其他英国大学和公司参与中国的网络活动和项目提案，以及中国和英国的医疗行业公司。我们将于2012年4月在成都的一个研究研讨会上启动英国-中国先进材料研究所。我们将与中国进行重要的研究人员交流，所有这些都将涉及研究培训，并在我们的主题下举办最多4个研究工作坊。我们将发展联合出版物、联合知识产权和联合研究学生监督，并鼓励成立联合研究实验室(类似于布拉德福德最近与四川大学在聚合物微加工方面成立的实验室)。我们将继续在中国在中国拥有的非常高知名度的科学桥梁的基础上再接再厉，包括与中国科技部和教育部正在进行的对话。

The programme will focus on the strengthening and further development of our university's successful research links with leading researchers in Chinese Universities meeting aligned needs of the UK and China in the strategic area of advanced materials for healthcare, aimed at medical technologies and drug delivery and building on our successful Science Bridges China programme. The overall purpose long term is to help meet the growing healthcare needs of the UK and China, which was identified as one of three UK-China collaborative research priorities by Ministers Willets and Wan in July 2011.The programme consists of Research projects, and a range of Network and Training activities. The RESEARCH projects, which are all in the area of Advanced Materials for Healthcare, are grouped into 3 inter-related Streams: Stream 1: Micromoulding & microextrusion & scale effects; Stream 2: Solid phase orientation of polymers & polymer nanocomposites; Stream 3: Enhanced drug delivery & bioavailabilty.Our proposal concerns controlling the structures of selected advanced materials through precision processing to achieve enhanced, controlled properties, for use in medical devices and technologies. We will explore polymers and polymer nanocomposites and their blends, to develop materials with novel physical properties (conductivity, strength, stiffness or diffusion behaviour) or novel products (including medical devices such as dental treatments, ophthalmic surgical devices, implantable devices (including arthroscopic fixations and orthopaedic implants for spinal repair)), drug delivery systems (e.g. microneedle arrays or drug eluting stents), and diagnostic devices (microfluidics, optical systems). We will also explore pharmaceuticals to enhance drug delivery methods, and drug bioavailability. Greater bioavailability means that less drug can be used to achieve a given effect in treating patients, which may be achieved by different routes such as amending the drug structure during processing of tablets, patches etc. (e.g. co-crystallisation) to enhance drug solubility in patients, or by physical particle size and form changes using supercritical fluids.NETWORKS & TRAINING are really 'People Bridges' activities - making trusting links between researchers, developing younger staff, leads to teams working for each other, opening up new opportunities and joint responses to challenges. Various mechanisms will be used to promote people bridges and subsequent collaborative projects and outputs. These include developing further our UK-China state of the art research Network, based on our extensive current Science Bridges China network, in which we have research collaborations with 18 leading Chinese universities and institutions, in the field of healthcare technologies. We will continue to proactively include other UK universities and companies in network events and project proposals with China, and healthcare sector companies in China and the UK. We will launch the UK-China Advanced Materials Research Institute (AMRI), in April 2012 at a Research Workshop in Chengdu. We will enable significant Researcher Exchanges with China, all of which will involve Research Training, and hold up to 4 Research Workshops in our theme. We will develop joint publications, joint IP and joint research student supervision, and encourage the formation of joint research laboratories (similar to the one Bradford recently formed with Sichuan University, in Polymer Micro Processing). We will continue to build on the very high visibility Science Bridges China has in China, including ongoing dialogues with the Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology and the Ministry of Education.