A new €1.7 million EU funded project involving 17 world-leading research institutions – including the University of Sydney – will encourage the transfer of ideas and knowledge between top scientists around the world.
The InForm project will provide a boost to an exciting area of research known as formulation science.
Formulation science is of vital importance to the development of many products that make our lives more comfortable, safer and enjoyable – such as household and personal care products, foods, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and coatings. But the development of new formulated products using novel materials – including nanomaterials – requires a careful evaluation of the environmental impact and toxicological effects.
Nanoformulation is already helping with the development of more effective methods of drug delivery with in the body. In industry there is a huge demand for high performing, cheap and environmentally sustainable products – and formulation design has been identified as being key in their development.
Now researchers working on the three-year InForm project are aiming to bring together top scientific knowledge in this area to enhance understanding of the subject.
University of Sydney researcher Daniela Traini will be researching drug delivery to the lung.
“Nanotechnology provides a broad range of opportunities to develop new solutions for clinical problems. For the pulmonary field, administration of therapeutics via inhalation nanotechnology promises more effective respiratory medicines with reduced toxicity and improved biocompatibility. Currently, many substances are under investigation for drug delivery but no products have reached the market,” said Daniela.
“My role in this partnership is to increase awareness and transfer scientific knowledge related to nano-research between academia, research institutes and industry; bringing the best of Europe to the Asia-Pacific and vice versa.”
“I am very thrilled to be part of InForm and look forward to the possibilities that nanotechnology offers in improving the quality of life to so many patients. I am also excited about the opportunities that lay ahead for people in both the scientific and commercial nanotechnology arenas,” said Daniela.
The project has been funded by the European Commission through the European Union Framework 7 programme.
The 17 institutions involved in the InForm project are
- The University of Manchester (UK) (coordinator)
- University of Sydney (Australia)
- Automaxion SARL (France)
- Bayer CropScience AG (Germany)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain)
- Daren Laboratories (Israel)
- Dechema (Germany)
- Higgins Consultancy Ltd. (UK)
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras (India)
- Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, A*STAR (Singapore)
- Novartis (UK)
- Royal Society of Chemistry – Formulation Science and Technology Group (UK)
- Societé Chimique de France (France)
- Southwest Forestry University (China)
- Strider Research Corporation (USA)
- University of Malaya (Malaysia)
- YKI, Institute for Surface Chemistry (Sweden)
The thematic lines are as follows:
- Formulation of nano-bio materials
- Handling and processing of nanopowders
- Process intensification and soft nanomaterials formulations
- Physical chemistry at the nanoscale
- The nanoscale and the formulation of smart and functional coatings, films and tapes
- Toxicology and health effects of nanomaterials
Source: The University of Sydney
