Inventing novel methods for making fine bubbles, particles, capsules and fibres of the micro-nano scale is an essential part of modern advanced science and engineering. These structures play an important part in key areas like healthcare engineering which is of a very high utilitarian value and public demand. Microbubbles are crucial contrast agents in ultrasound imaging, and also very effective in drug delivery. Particles and capsules are extensively used in modern therapeutics. Fibres are used in advanced applications such as tissue engineering, microbial screening and chronic wound healing strategies. However, the quest to make these structures in a reproducible manner with high productivity and process control is still elusive and is a hot topic where scale-up possibilities and actual industrial manufacturing are crucial factors. The Biomaterials Processing & Forming Laboratory (www.edirisinghelab.com) has been at the forefront of this research and this talk will illustrate how these novel making developments are currently taking place at great pace. This work has led to many inventions and has won over 20 high impact factor international journal front covers. For example, microbubble generation using microfluidics and electrohydrodynamics and their combination has led to a new medical frontier (1), we are the inventors of the combined method. We have also invented new electrohydodynamic devices which can make 4-layered particles (2) and these are paving the way to a new generation of therapeutics, for example to combat urinary tract infections in a new way. We have invented a new fibre manufacturing method called pressurised gyration (3) which has allowed doped-manufacturing of polymeric fibres with a high yield and this has revolutionized fibre-mesh generation for making antimicrobial filtration mats, tissue engineering constructs and wound healing and drug delivery patches. Our work has also paved new ways of utilising graphene and its derivatives in biomedical engineering (4). More exciting developments are in progress in collaboration with USA, China and Europe to further harness these manufacturing technologies especially in biotechnology (5) and core-sheath structure generation to enhance biomedical applications (6) and this talk will briefly indicate the exciting progress we are making in these areas.
References
- M.Edirisinghe and S.Dalvi, Langmuir, 2019, Volume 35, Issue 31 (special issue), pages 9995-10222
- S.Labbaf, H.Ghanbar, E.Stride and M.Edirisinghe, Macromol Rapid Commun. 2014; 35(6), 618–623.
- P.Heseltine, J.Ahmed and M.Edirisinghe, Macromol Mater. & Eng., 2018, Vol. 303((9), 1800218.
- M.Edirisinghe, The Royal Society Interface Focus, Special Issue, April 2018, Vol. 8, issue 3.
- J.Ahmed, M.Gultekinoglu and M.Edirisinghe, Biotech. Adv., 2020, Volume 41, July-August issue, 107549.
- S.Mahalingam, R.Matharu, S.Homer-Vanniasinkam and M.Edirisinghe, Appl. Phys. Rev., 2020, 7, 041302 .
