Under the responsive mode, the Healthcare Prioritisation Panel (Engineering) of EPSRC has awarded a £437K research grant for collaboration between Professor Mohan Edirisinghe and Professor William Bonfield FRS (Cambridge University). The research will investigate on novel forming routes to create nano- and micro- topographies of several types of nano-hydroxyapatites (nHA). The grant enables funding a 3-year post-doctoral researcher at each site and will focus on nano-biotechnological patterning. The research team, supported by the Medical Devices Faraday Partnership, will also include Dr Serena Best (Cambridge University), Dr Suwan Jayasinghe (QMUL), Dr Jie Huang (Cambridge University), Dr Neil Rushton FRCS (Cambridge University and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge) and Dr Roger Brookes (Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge).

The award culminates almost two years of exploratory research involving advanced jet-based processing at QMUL of nano-HAs synthesised at Cambridge 1,2. This work has enabled evidence of patterning of nHA on a variety of substrates. Cell response studies on these patterns carried out at Cambridge has been remarkable and potentially improved bone integration for skeletal implants is anticipated.


1. J. Huang, S.N. Jayasinghe, S. M. Best, M.J. Edirisinghe, R. A. Brooks and W. Bonfield, Electrospraying of a Nano-hydroxyapatite Suspension, J. Mater. Sci., 39(2004)1029-1032.

2. J. Huang, S.M. Best, W. Bonfield, R.A. Brooks, N. Rushton, S.N. Jayasinghe and M.J. Edirisinghe, In-Vitro Assessment of the Biological Response to Nano-sized Hydroxyapatite, Mater. Sci. : Mater. in Medicine , 15(2004)441-445.