UCD has developed novel, small molecule, anti-angiogenic compounds to offer patients and clinicians cost-effective, easily administered, safe and sustainable therapeutics to prevent blindness from retinal vascular diseases. The retinal therapeutics market is estimated at $3 billion (2012); it is a high growth market with significant unmet need. The dramatic entry of Lucentis (anti-VEGF antibody intravitreal drug) into the market in 2007 and the success of anti-angiogenic drugs have highlighted the opportunity for products in the retinal disease market. The entry of topical or slow release preparations into the market would eliminate the current practice of repeated intravitreal injections and the associated safety risks and clinical burden. In addition, there is a cohort of patients unresponsive to current treatments, underscoring the need for new therapeutics.

UCD researchers have developed a microfluidic cell culture platform for cell-based assays that simultaneously exposes cells to multiple linear concentration gradients formed in different directions. Diffusion-based, stable gradients can be formed within one hour and can be maintained for days without inducing shear stresses on the cells. The platform is suitable for medium throughput screening with brightfield or fluorescence visualization/quantitation of cells via microscopic imaging or a plate reader. Combinatorial drug screening and dose optimization studies can be performed, where equal numbers of cells are exposed to combinations of each compound at defined concentrations. Other potential applications include cell migration, live-cell tracking and post-fixation immunocytochemistry.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common of hereditary cardiac conditions and is related to mutations in sarcomere proteins, the most frequent of which is MYBPC (cardiac myosin protein C). While MYPB-C mutations are associated with HCM, there is a marked heterogeneity in phenotypic responses to mutations of this gene, even within families, and this could be explained by epigenetic factors such as hypermethylation. UCD researchers have shown that the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacitidine (5-aza) improves cardiac function, including hypertrophy and diastology, in a murine animal model (SHR, spontaneously hypertensive rat, model) and this is associated with up-regulation of MYBP-C, and more surprisingly actin alpha1 skeletal muscle (ACTA1), gene expression in cardiomyocytes. Therefore, DNA methylation inhibitors may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for the prevention and treatment of HCM, in particular the Orphan indications HOCM and FHCM. 5-aza is a hypomethylation agent that could be repurposed for Orphan indications in HCM.

Dye-Sentitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) are an emerging low-cost third generation photovoltaic technology particularly suited for efficient light to-electricity conversion in indoors low-light environments. Electrolyte leakage due to the corrosive nature of iodine/iodide-containing electrolytes is currently the key issue preventing the technology’s productisation and wider deployment.

The novel technology developed by the Microfluidic Group in UCD, funded by Enterprise Ireland allows the rapid manufacture of low-cost microfluidic inserts suitable for either small multiple prototype runs or for scale up polymer manufacture of 10,000+ parts using medical polymers, taking less than 1 hour for the manufacture and preparation of industrially viable inserts with features as low as 100 micron. A key issue for production of plastic microfluidics is fabrication of inverted microstructured tools. Mass production tools must be strong, durable, with the required feature size and aspect ratio, maintain a good demolding capability with a feasible draft angle, appropriate surface finish and a good cost/performance ratio. Normally technologies are slow (days) and/or expensive requiring the manufacture .

The accumulation of charge in the dielectric of a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) device results in a parasitic source of electrostatic force which, if uncontrolled, can lead to device malfunction and permanent stiction that negatively impacts on reliability. This dielectric charge accounts for a number of reliability issues in electrostatically actuated MEMS and hence is a major barrier to the commercialisation of many such devices; as in the case of RF switches. Researchers from UCD and UPC have developed this novel control method that improves the accuracy and resolution of all devices that use electrostatic actuation.

A system for search and discovery of information in a real time network, comprising: means for gathering data indicative of a message posted in an real time network, the data comprising information identifying a uniform resource locator, URL and textual information associated with the URL

A method for the manufacture of patterned microparticles comprises immobilizing microparticles, including nanoparticles, to be patterned on a surface of a porous membrane, causing an inorganic or organic coating material which can bind to exposed surfaces of said microparticles, and which can permeate through the pores of said membrane, to flow relative to said immobilized microparticles, and removing the microparticles from the membrane following binding of said coating material. The method enables one to prepare a wide range of anisotropically-modified patterned microparticles, including microparticles patterned with nanoparticles or a biomolecular material such as DNA and protein. The patterned microparticles produced can be used in wide range of applications in health, information and communication, and sustainable environment such as shelter, clothing, energy, food, transport and security.