A team of chemists at Huddersfield University has brought in millions of pounds by carrying out advanced analytical work for clients ranging from major healthcare companies to overseas government agencies.
But it also finds time for innovative projects of its own – including developing environmentally-friendly fuels for cars and food labels that flash a warning sign when meat is no longer safe to eat.
The unit named IPOS – Innovative Physical Organic Solutions – is staffed by 18 scientists, ranging from chemists with widespread industrial experience to PhD researchers and apprentices working towards degrees.
It is based in state-of-the-art labs that have been declared a Centre of Technological Excellence by lab equipment manufacturer Agilent.
IPOS was founded seven years ago and has just reached its latest milestone of generating £2m in commercial income. When this is added to the grant funding the unit has received – including a substantial award from the European Regional Development Fund – the group has earned almost £5m and it is completely self-supporting within the university.
As IPOS has evolved, the emphasis has tilted towards carrying out analytical work, according to unit co-founder Dr Matt Stirling. “It is very diverse, but we get the more difficult tasks,” he said. “If a company cannot solve a problem, they will bring it to us because of the instrumentation and the expertise that we have.”
IPOS also works on process development and has been involved in an intriguing range of projects, such as a request by the Danish Ministry of Food to find a more efficient method for analysing the levels of vitamins and nutrients in baby food. Its existing technique took an hour for each batch, but IPOS has developed a process that reduced this to seven minutes.
The unit has also collaborated with the healthcare sector on projects such as developing improved processes for manufacturing anti-bacterial wound dressings. Projects with the food industry include an analysis of the sugars in pro-biotic yoghurts for a major dairy company.
Demand for its services means that IPOS plans to expand its facilities at the university’s Page Laboratories – named after unit co-founder Prof Mike Page.
And as well as undertaking work for outside contractors, IPOS is also collaborating with other Huddersfield University experts on new projects. For example, in tandem with the engineer Prof Andrew Ball, the unit is investigating the use of ammonia as a fuel for specially-adapted engines.
Dr Michael Powles, also an IPOS co-founder, said: “It would be an alternative to conventional organic fuels. When ammonia burns it forms water and nitrogen so there is no carbon dioxide. People have run vehicles on ammonia, but it has not yet proved too popular, so we have decided to get over some of the challenges.”
Other innovative work on the agenda includes smart labels for meat products. When bacteria have developed in the meat, they would trigger a sensor embedded in the label, so that it turns a warning shade of red. The result would be increased food safety and less food waste.
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