Materials science and engineering
At the Functional and Adaptive Surfaces Group, our research develops methods to fabricate nanostructured materials and material surfaces, such as nanoporous surface layers and micropost arrays. We also explore the relationship between surface topography, wetting and adhesion on bacterial surface growth, such as for the contamination of food processing surfaces or medical devices in healthcare.
Our facility has equipment for the processing (molding, curing) of polymers, and the fabrication of materials using colloidal suspensions. This equipment includes vacuum chambers, vacuum ovens, drying ovens, high temperature furnaces, oxygen plasma etching, UV curing, and spin-coating.
We also have a biosafety level 2 microbiology lab that has equipment for the handling, culture, imaging and storage of bacteria. This equipment includes a biosafety cabinet, incubators, centrifuge, colony counting, pH meter and fluorescence microscopy.
Microbiological testing of materials for bacterial contamination and growth, including performance of antibacterial surfaces, coatings, and materials; characterization of surfaces, including chemistry, topography (roughness) and contamination
- Healthcare and social services
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
- Manufacturing and processing
Specialized labs and equipment
Specialized lab | Equipment |
---|---|
Microbiology lab | Olympus fluorescence microscope |
NuAire biosafety cabinet | |
Thermo Scientific centrifuge | |
Perkin Elmer UV/Vis spectrometer | |
Fabrication lab | Harrick plasma etcher |
Electrospinning system |
Private and public sector research partners
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
- Ontario Research Fund
- Ontario Centres of Excellence