Clean water is becoming an increasingly valuable resource.
One of the biggest issues in testing water for human consumption is the two week delay between sample and test results from laboratories. With government agencies concerned not only with the environmental impact of industry but also the possible issues around environmental terrorism. There is an urgent need to develop a technology which can provide instant, real-time results.
Science developed by Leeds University can provide that function and the European Commission recognised the importance of this work by awarding the HISENTS consortium with a 6.5million euro grant, of which Blueprint was a part of.
The HISENTS project, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 scheme is an innovative new real-time toxic screening tool for nanomaterials found in water. The device is intended to test for the presence of toxic nanomaterials in real-time as opposed to having to send samples away for testing and waiting two weeks for the results.
The platform mimics a living organism and is the nearest thing possible to a “human-on-a-chip”.
In this platform, all the respective targets representing individual organs would be in flow cell modules and these modules would be linked up into a microfluidic network, to be used for the toxicity screening of nanomaterials.
Alongside highly regarded national and international institutes, (please see below) Blueprint’s participation in the development was for market analysis and demonstrator development. The work completed has led to Blueprint being recognised as a ‘key innovator’ by the European Commission’s Innovation radar.
Blueprint’s deliverable in the HISENTS project was to develop a business plan consisting of in-depth market analysis, a business plan to deliver the technology and develop a demonstrator for sales activities.
It was noted that Blueprint went above and beyond the brief, identifying and engaging with actual customers who indicated their interest in purchasing the product when it was market ready.
This commitment to the brief and going beyond what is expected of the company has gained Blueprint international recognition. We personally believe that we achieved the ultimate aim of marketing any new technology development in that we sold the technology before it was ready for market therefore guaranteeing a very successful market entry and we are proud to have received a commendation from one of the highest serving bodies for research and development as a result of our work.
Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness.
Seen as a means to drive economic growth and create jobs, Horizon 2020 has the political backing of Europe’s leaders and the Members of the European Parliament. They agreed that research is an investment in the future and so put it at the heart of the EU’s blueprint for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs.
Affiliated Institutions:
FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.
Fraunhofer society
Germany
TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
Israel
SLOVENSKA TECHNICKA UNIVERZITA V BRATISLAVE
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava
Slovakia
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN
Vienna University of Technology
Austria
BIOMEDICINSKE CENTRUM SLOVENSKEJ AKADEMIE VIED
Biomedical Research Center SAS
Slovakia
FUNDACIO INSTITUT CATALA DE NANOCIENCIA I NANOTECNOLOGIA
The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Spain
UNIVERSITAT DES SAARLANDES
Saarland University
Germany
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK – NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORK
Ireland
NILU STIFTELSEN NORSK INSTITUTT FOR LUFTFORSKNING
Nilu Foundation Norwegian Institute for Air Research
Norway