At least half of the European population dies from cardiovascular disease, often prematurely and following prolonged periods of disability. There is compelling evidence that this type of disease and several related diseases are caused, or accelerated, by unwanted inflammation, excessive oxidative stress, inactivity, and high fat load. Seminal studies over the past decade have identified special types of fat (lipid) in the disease conditions that are collectively referred to as oxidized phospholipids. There is excellent evidence that oxidized phospholipids play pivotal roles in cardiovascular disease but there is little fundamental understanding of how cells sense or respond to the lipids; or defend against them. In our new studies of vascular cells from patients with cardiovascular disease we have identified a striking initial reception mechanism for the lipids and so propose investigation of how the mechanism works as well as identification of genes that encode the mechanism. Through this work we will provide new insight into an important and poorly understood area of human biology and lay the foundations for valuable therapeutic interventions with high relevance to major human diseases.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Energy and resource losses in moving mechanical components as a result of friction and wear impose an enormous cost on national economies and thus call for the development of new design strategies, engineering systems, and materials with improved properties. Besides allowing significant economic savings, the reduction of frictional losses and the protection of mechanical components from wear can also have beneficial environmental effects, i.e., a reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. The goal of the proposed project is to develop an understanding of the mechanism(s) of surface molecular reactivity of a new class of “green” lubricants, i.e., ionic liquids (ILs), under mechanical stress. The gap in our understanding concerning the interaction(s) between ILs and solid surfaces leading to a reduction in friction and wear drastically hinders our ability to predict, control, and improve the behaviour of ILs and motivates the current project. Through the use of novel analytical methodologies that allow a multi-scale investigation of the processes occurring at buried sliding interfaces in the presence of ILs, insights into the origin of the promising tribological properties of ILs will be gained. The project has a strong multidisciplinary character and will greatly benefit from the expertise that the fellow acquired from his mobility between research institutions in different countries. Through NanoTrIAL, the fellow will broaden his scientific background, develop complementary knowledge in new areas, and increase his chances of success in academia. The broader impact of NanoTrIAL will be to aid in the rational design and synthesis of new, modified, and improved ILs that can reduce energy and resource consumption in advanced tribological applications. Furthermore, the project will imply highly innovative, direct methodological developments that can be broadly applied, thus enhancing European academic and commercial competitiveness.

Soap bars (based on sodium salts of fatty acids) and syndet bars (using added sodium salts of isethionate esters) suffer from the presence of grit like spherical particles. These hard particles cause extensive manufacturing problems (such as difficulty in melting the pre-bar blends) and are disliked by the consumer. Grit is formed in the initial crystallisation/precipitation of the soap ingredient and various ingredients are subsequently blended and melted before pressing out into bars. The presence of grit affects all the downstream processing stages - these hard lumps cause equipment erosion and slow down the melting process, block filters and so on. Grit also abrades skin when washing and has an unpleasant feel. This has assisted the uptake of liquid soaps and body washes in the West. However, the use of liquid soaps has increased the need for packaging and the emission of more greenhouse gases due to transporting what is effectively water. Innospec is the only Western major player doing research in this area and cannot make the next step in utilising new improved ingredients which will result in a change in consumer preference. A successful outcome would result in Innospec (with its research base in the UK) becoming the largest European supplier of key ingredients for a rejuvenated soap bar market. A multi-disciplinary approach utilising the CDT in Complex Particulate Products and Processes is required to fully characterise these grit particles for the first time and to identify routes for their prevention or elimination. This project builds on the research of Cohort 1 CDT student Mohammed Jeraal. Reference: Process-Focused Synthesis, Crystallization, and Physicochemical Characterization of Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate - https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b04237 Aims: To define the crystallisation processing boundaries that form grit in soap bars and to develop counter measures to reduce or eliminate grit. Objectives: Develop measurement/analytical methods to determine the effect of the current manufacturing process that leads to the formation of grit. Examine the dynamics of the melt crystallization in-situ as a function of rheological behaviour and crystallization supersaturation. Study the influence of the ingredient composition and impurities on the crystallisation process specifically addressing how this impacts upon the resultant melt viscosity and particle aggregation in solution. Understand and characterise ingredient and product crystallisation kinetics and its inter-relationship with particle morphology (crystal form) and develop a process model for the manufacturing process. Develop an understanding of what factors affect the crystal form, grit formation and its elimination - this will cover assessing the current synthesis conditions, the effect of impurities, chemical additives and the potential to change the fundamental chemistry by the use of other ingredients.