Designer nanoparticles for biomedicine and energy: Physics meets biology and chemistry

Nanostructured materials already play a vital role in society. For example, the red lines on a Covid test are nanoscale gold particles. The conventional approach to their production employs solvents and chemicals which present health hazards and environmental challenges. In this project we will exploit a breakthrough in the development of nanoscale physics-based experimental methods, where Swansea is world leader, which provides a means to achieve solvent-free synthesis and scale-up of soluble, ligand-capped metal nanoparticles of size 1-100 nm. Examples of the metal nanoparticles are gold for medical diagnostics and cancer treatment; iridium and platinum for clean energy (hydrogen); and silicon for photonics and solar. They will be characterised by state of the art methods including XPS, SEM, TEM, dynamic light scattering, optical methods and mass spec. The production methods will combine atomistic and molecular (including protein molecule) deposition in vacuum with wafer and roll-to-roll technology and post-processing to harvest nanoparticles on a scale beginning with grams, heading for kilograms and with the potential for tonnes - representing a revolutionary paradigm-shift in (bio) materials manufacturing at the interface between science frontiers and technological and medical applications.