Analytical science facility celebrates progress in materials, medicine and more

The Agilent Measurement Suite, a flagship analytical science facility at the White City Campus, is celebrating three years since it opened its doors.

Since opening in 2019, the Agilent Measurement Suite has helped Imperial researchers, innovative startups, and partners from around the world to make progress on real-world challenges such turning plants into sustainable plastic, searching for useful bacteria, and repairing damaged hearts.

These projects and others in fields such as chemistry, synthetic biology, and medicine have been facilitated by advanced equipment and training opportunities provided by instrument manufacturer Agilent as part of an ongoing partnership with Imperial.

A hub for analytical science

The Suite differs from most analytical science facilities due not only to its unique combination of technical capabilities but also its accessibility to researchers from across Imperial’s faculties, innovative businesses from the College ecosystem, and partners around the world.

A new report profiles research into polymeric pacemaker leads, heart tissue engineering, sustainable bioplastics, and adulterated herbal remedies.

By providing access to equipment that is often unavailable in their own labs, it enables scientists to work more flexibly and creatively, and startups to establish proofs of concept that help them gain the investments they need to bring workflows in house.

In a new report published to mark three years of the Suite, Dr Darlene Solomon, Chief Technology Officer at Agilent, says: “We have the absolute pleasure of knowing that we have assisted [researchers] in their achievements by giving them access to real industry tools, services and support. Very early on we saw this as a key opportunity for us to involve ourselves with top researchers from a leading university, working on some really pioneering research. We are really proud of this continued collaboration.”

Real-world benefits

The report, Three years of the Agilent Measurement Suite, profiles many of the real-world advances that have been made using the Suite, including biotechnology startup Bactobio, who received support from the Agilent Measurement Suite and SynbiCITE, the UK’s national centre for the commercialisation of synthetic biology, to develop their technology for identifying and cultivating useful bacteria.

The Suite allows Agilent to showcase its equipment and establish a base at the centre of London’s White City Innovation District, a growing hotspot for innovation in biotechnology and other high tech fields.

Also profiled are projects to research and develop polymeric pacemaker leads, heart tissue engineering, sustainable bioplastics, and, in collaboration with clinicians in West Africa, to identify the contents of adulterated herbal remedies.

The report also reveals how the Suite has helped up-skill researchers by offering practical training to achieve the maximum potential of the equipment, and provided Agilent with benefits including the opportunity to showcase the capabilities of its equipment and establish a base at the centre of London’s White City Innovation District, a growing hotspot for innovation and entrepreneurship in biotechnology and other high tech sectors.

Advancing together

Professor Richard Craster, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: “[The Agilent Measurement Suite] is a collaboration, so we learn and advance together, ensuring everyone gets the most from the technology. And we share in the rewards through an ever-growing reputation for quality research at the cutting edge. Most importantly, the world benefits from work that solves thorny analytical challenges from medical innovation to safety testing.”

Dr Marina Kuimova, Reader in Chemical Physics at Imperial and Deputy Director of the Agilent Measurement Suite, said: “This publication covers just some of the Agilent Measurement Suite’s fantastic early achievements. I’m excited to see continued progress as further publications and real-world achievements emerge, and new projects continue to come online. We look forward to the Suite’s continued flourishing thanks to the generous support of our valued partners at Agilent, and its continued role as a driving force behind the emerging White City Innovation District.”