University of Oxford: experimental equipment upgrade
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
This is an enabling investment that will underpin a significant proportion of Oxford's engineering and physical sciences research activity.
Supported research will fall into one or more of the following broad areas, depending on which combination of equipment bundles is selected for funding:
- Advanced Materials and Materials Engineering. The design and development of novel functional materials and of new components/devices based on these materials (including structural materials, quantum materials and superconducting materials).
- Energy and Transport. The development of novel energy storage materials/systems; new photovoltaic materials; more efficient engine technologies for the automotive and aerospace sectors.
- Development of novel physical science methods and analytical techniques and their application to challenges in the biological and medical sciences.
Supported research will fall into one or more of the following broad areas, depending on which combination of equipment bundles is selected for funding:
- Advanced Materials and Materials Engineering. The design and development of novel functional materials and of new components/devices based on these materials (including structural materials, quantum materials and superconducting materials).
- Energy and Transport. The development of novel energy storage materials/systems; new photovoltaic materials; more efficient engine technologies for the automotive and aerospace sectors.
- Development of novel physical science methods and analytical techniques and their application to challenges in the biological and medical sciences.
Planned Impact
This investment will promote impact across 4 broad groups:
- graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, who will acquire enhanced technical skills through access to, and training on, state-of-the-art equipment
- consumers, through the development of next-generation display technologies and batteries, and other products
- society in general, through the development of innovative products to tackle the twin challenges of carbon reduction and sustainable energy
- UK industry, including key manufacturers (and their supply chains) in the automotive and aerospace sectors
Novel diagnostic techniques, pioneered in Oxford, will support the development of the next generation of UK-manufactured diesel engines - with greater fuel efficiency, and reduced emissions (both carbon dioxide and other gases that are not yet subject to regulation). This offers the potential for reduced transport costs (for motorists and air passengers) as well as public health benefits. Experimental validation of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) data will help to reduce design and development costs for gas turbine manufacturers (for both aerospace and civil applications, such as power generation).
New battery technologies - and battery management systems - are essential for the roll-out of electric and hybrid vehicles, and will also deliver benefits to the consumer electronics sector (e.g. smaller, smarter or longer-lasting batteries). Improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of solar cell materials and devices has the potential to greatly increase uptake of renewable energy. A significant strand of Oxford's research into the properties of materials under extreme conditions is aimed at developing new materials to enhance the safety of nuclear power stations (both fission and, ultimately, fusion).
Potential applications of novel synthetic biology and chemical biology techniques include new methods for cancer detection and for targeted drug delivery, as well as the search for alternative antibiotics (a major - and urgent - challenge in 21st-century healthcare).
- graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, who will acquire enhanced technical skills through access to, and training on, state-of-the-art equipment
- consumers, through the development of next-generation display technologies and batteries, and other products
- society in general, through the development of innovative products to tackle the twin challenges of carbon reduction and sustainable energy
- UK industry, including key manufacturers (and their supply chains) in the automotive and aerospace sectors
Novel diagnostic techniques, pioneered in Oxford, will support the development of the next generation of UK-manufactured diesel engines - with greater fuel efficiency, and reduced emissions (both carbon dioxide and other gases that are not yet subject to regulation). This offers the potential for reduced transport costs (for motorists and air passengers) as well as public health benefits. Experimental validation of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) data will help to reduce design and development costs for gas turbine manufacturers (for both aerospace and civil applications, such as power generation).
New battery technologies - and battery management systems - are essential for the roll-out of electric and hybrid vehicles, and will also deliver benefits to the consumer electronics sector (e.g. smaller, smarter or longer-lasting batteries). Improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of solar cell materials and devices has the potential to greatly increase uptake of renewable energy. A significant strand of Oxford's research into the properties of materials under extreme conditions is aimed at developing new materials to enhance the safety of nuclear power stations (both fission and, ultimately, fusion).
Potential applications of novel synthetic biology and chemical biology techniques include new methods for cancer detection and for targeted drug delivery, as well as the search for alternative antibiotics (a major - and urgent - challenge in 21st-century healthcare).
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Ian Walmsley (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Aleksejev J
(2020)
In-situ X-ray tomography of wear - A feasibility study
in Tribology International
Boughton OR
(2019)
Computed tomography porosity and spherical indentation for determining cortical bone millimetre-scale mechanical properties.
in Scientific reports
Chen H
(2023)
Fracture toughness evaluation of a nuclear graphite with non-linear elastic properties by 3D imaging and inverse finite element analysis
in Engineering Fracture Mechanics
Chen Y
(2021)
In situ X-ray tomography characterisation of 3D deformation of C/C-SiC composites loaded under tension
in Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
Cui L
(2017)
Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Stable Isotope Probing to Monitor Nitrogen Assimilation at Both Bulk and Single-Cell Level.
in Analytical chemistry
Galan SRG
(2018)
Post-translational site-selective protein backbone a-deuteration.
in Nature chemical biology
Gao X
(2022)
Solid-state lithium battery cathodes operating at low pressures
in Joule
Garcia-Gonzalez D
(2017)
On the mechanical behaviour of PEEK and HA cranial implants under impact loading.
in Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials
Hsu CC
(2020)
A single-cell Raman-based platform to identify developmental stages of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Huang C
(2019)
Low-tortuosity and graded lithium ion battery cathodes by ice templating
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Huang C
(2020)
A Solid-State Battery Cathode with a Polymer Composite Electrolyte and Low Tortuosity Microstructure by Directional Freezing and Polymerization
in Advanced Energy Materials
Islam MS
(2019)
Biochemical and structural investigations clarify the substrate selectivity of the 2-oxoglutarate oxygenase JMJD6.
in The Journal of biological chemistry
Jiang N
(2019)
Hygrothermal aging and structural damage of a jute/poly (lactic acid) (PLA) composite observed by X-ray tomography
in Composites Science and Technology
Jiang N
(2020)
3D finite element modeling of water diffusion behavior of jute/PLA composite based on X-ray computed tomography
in Composites Science and Technology
Jing X
(2018)
Raman-activated cell sorting and metagenomic sequencing revealing carbon-fixing bacteria in the ocean.
in Environmental microbiology
Jing X
(2022)
Revealing CO 2 -Fixing SAR11 Bacteria in the Ocean by Raman-Based Single-Cell Metabolic Profiling and Genomics
in BioDesign Research
Kasemchainan J
(2019)
Critical stripping current leads to dendrite formation on plating in lithium anode solid electrolyte cells.
in Nature materials
Liang B
(2019)
Raman profiling of embryo culture medium to identify aneuploid and euploid embryos.
in Fertility and sterility
Liang P
(2022)
Isolation and Culture of Single Microbial Cells by Laser Ejection Sorting Technology.
in Applied and environmental microbiology
Liu C
(2021)
In situ investigation of failure in 3D braided SiCf/SiC composites under flexural loading
in Composite Structures
Liu T
(2020)
Biochemical and biophysical analyses of hypoxia sensing prolyl hydroxylases from Dictyostelium discoideum and Toxoplasma gondii
in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Main D
(2021)
Preparing narrow velocity distributions for quantum memories in room-temperature alkali-metal vapors
in Physical Review A
McIlvenna D
(2016)
Continuous cell sorting in a flow based on single cell resonance Raman spectra.
in Lab on a chip
| Description | This grant has funded core experimental equipment that is essential for any major EPS research base (e.g. NMR and XRD), and more specialised facilities linked to Oxford's key strategic priorities (e.g. Raman microscope, helium liquefier). This investment has enhanced infrastructure reliability and reduced downtime; increased scientific throughput; enhanced core capabilities (e.g. characterisation at higher resolutions and/or in variable environmental conditions); and enabled new experimental techniques. Specific examples of the research that this strategic investment in key underpinning equipment has supported include: Helium liquefier: Cryogenic infrastructure supports a variety of EPSRC-funded facilities, such as NMR and electron spin resonance (CAESR) in Chemistry and the pulsed-field facility in Physics, underpinning a vast array of research at the core of the EPSRC portfolio, such as Physics Grand Challenges in Emergence and Physics far from Equilibrium, Quantum Physics for new Quantum Technologies, and Nanoscale Design of Functional Materials, among other areas. This updated infrastructure at Oxford has been key in enabling the creation of new knowledge across a number of high profile grants requiring access to cryogenic equipment: EP/P018874/1, EP/M020517/1, EP/N034872/1, EP/M018954/1, EP/P026427/1, EP/M009521/1, EP/N017188/1. Raman microscope: whilst the benefit of the Raman microscope does not reach as widely as the underpinning infrastructure of the Helium liquefier, it has supported key research programme across synthetic biology (EP/M002403/1) and bioenergy (EP/N009746/1). The outcomes and key findings of each of the research grants detailed above are recorded separately against each of their individual entries. |
| Exploitation Route | Too early |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | The equipment supported by this grant has enabled, and continues to enable, a wide range of experimental science in areas of strategic importance for the UK. Replacing old, unreliable equipment with the latest technology has enhanced Oxford research capability and productivity, and thus the UK's competitiveness in these fast moving research fields. X Ray Tomography - The investment in X Ray Tomography has provided proof of principle data crucial in obtaining significant beam time at Diamond Light Source, SOLEIL (France) and the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland) across a great mane projects. Example projects include research into delamination of unidirectional carbon fibre composites for aerospace applications, and in situ observation of degradation in solid-state inorganic electrolytes for energy storage. The capabilities of the equipment has directly supported a patent application for an Osteochondral device. NMR - The two funded NMR spectrometers have operated within Oxford's core NMR Spectroscopy research support facility since their installation in 2016, providing fully open-access, automated operation on a 24/7 basis and have underpinned the research of 40 academic groups across chemistry, pharmacology, material science and physics. Each instrument has run an average of 45,000 experiments per annum, supporting publications and providing initial data enabling grant applications for multiple new projects, including many supported by EPSRC. Similarly, the instruments continue to support the ongoing research within the EPSRC founded CDTs based within chemistry. They have also supported the research activities of local chemical and biotech companies who have arranged access to these systems; one notable example is Oxford Nanopore Technologies who are regular external users and have gained global recognition for their gene sequencing technology and recently its application to coronaviruses. Mass Spec - The system has been operated since 2016 within Oxford's Mass Spectrometry Research Facility, to run both a chemical proteomics service and in bespoke collaborative and non-collaborative projects. Since 2016 thousands of samples have been run, impacting a very wide range of research projects, academic publications and a number of grant applications, supporting over 30 research groups. Example projects include, species identification of silks by protein mass spectrometry revealing evidence of wild silk use in antiquity, and the discovery of human blood and bird egg proteins in red paint covering a 1000-year-old gold mask from Peru. Raman microscope - Directly enabled by the Raman microscope, a new rapid diagnosis of antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungi has been developed via a project funded by Innovate UK, working with Epigem Ltd. Through the project the concept has been successfully proven and a prototype device has been made, ready for testing. Skills - Much of the equipment has given research students and postdocs access to state-of-the-art techniques, enabling them to develop new skills. For example, the new NMR and MS instruments have been used to introduce new graduate students to the application and capabilities of modern analytical methods in a purpose- built research environment, playing a significant role in the training of postgraduate synthetic and biological students. The benefit of these skills will be felt by the future employers of these students (e.g. pharma), with downstream benefits to society as these skills are used. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Energy,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | An integrated microfluidic - single cell Raman technology for rapid diagnosis of pathogens and their antibiotic resistance |
| Amount | £748,508 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 08/2022 |
| Description | LinkPI: Linking Phenotype function with Identity: a novel integrated single-cell technology and metagenomics approach |
| Amount | £83,396 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/S008721/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2018 |
| End | 08/2021 |
| Title | CELL SORTING |
| Description | The present invention relates to a screening chip for cell sorting, said screening chip comprising a substrate having opposing first and second surfaces, wherein at least a portion of said first surface is coated with a Raman-inactive coating material which can be vaporised by laser irradiation at a wavelength and wherein said substrate is transparent to laser radiation at wavelength In further aspects of the invention, a cell sorting method employing the screening chip and a cell sorting apparatus employing the screening chip are provided. |
| IP Reference | WO2017144886 |
| Protection | Patent granted |
| Year Protection Granted | 2017 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Impact | licensed this patent to Horiba Scientific Ltd, which is the largest manufacturer of Raman spectroscopy in the world |