Big science supporting small business

As a by-product of large scale research projects on synchrotron radiation, spacious laboratories with more than £3 million of state-of-the-art scientific equipment are now available in the Daresbury Laboratory for use by small high-tech start-up companies and academic researchers.

STFC Innovations Technology Access Centre (I-TAC) offers flexible and affordable access to a wide range of cutting-edge scientific equipment in 16 fully-equipped biological, imaging, materials and physical science laboratories, providing businesses and researchers with the ideal environment to carry out high-tech research and development work.

With low cost, low commitment state-of-the-art equipment and laboratory space being difficult to obtain at the proof of concept stage, these facilities provide the ideal environment for both start ups and the R&D teams of established companies.

The Laboratory Facilities

Businesses located in the Centre can make full use of the wide range of facilities including leasing their own exclusive-use, 'lock and leave' laboratories. Companies not located at the Centre are able to access a number of multi-user laboratories available on an hourly basis. A total of 1,400 sq m (15,000 sq ft) of laboratory space has been made available, with half of it accessible on demand for short-term use.

The facilities provided include a Wet Chemistry & Materials Laboratory with an associated Preparation Laboratory that includes small workshop facilities, furnaces, cutting, lapping and polishing equipment.

Analytical user facilities include a Surface Science and Imaging Laboratory which contains a suite of SEM, TEM, AFM and optical microscopes. There is also an Instrumentation Laboratory with a range of FTIR, UV-Vis and DSC/DTA facilities, High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Dynamic Light Scattering, a Spectrofluorometer and two designated X-ray Diffractometers.

To hear more about the Laboratory facilities view the Innovations Technology Access Centre video.

Biological Laboratory

The Campus makes particular emphasis on Biological Laboratory facilities - fully equipped and functional for biological preparation, with fume cupboards and glove boxes. Facilities are available for protein crystallography studies and also a wide range of instrumentation suitable for the study of organic and microbiological specimens.

• High-end equipment is uniquely available for rent, including analytical laboratories installed inside refrigerated chambers, where protein analysis can be carried out in temperatures as low as +5°C.

• Class 2 facilities are also be available for experiments with hazardous substances, in addition to devices for liquid chromatography and protein crystallography. Only a few of these currently exist in the UK, with very limited availability.

Case study: Byotrol and BioEDEN

Byotrol has developed a patented, next generation hygiene technology, described as having the characteristics of the ideal biocide. Byotrol is using the Centre to develop specific versions of the technology for the healthcare, food production, animal welfare and consumer markets.

Two companies on Campus already befitting from the ITAC facility are Byotrol and BioEDEN. Manchester-based Byotrol is the first long-term tenant at the Centre following the recent relocation of their principle microbiology R&D operations to the North West.

BioEDEN, based in the Daresbury Innovation Centre, is an international business with an innovative process for collecting stem cells from children's milk teeth, and is using the space within the ITAC facility for storage of their backup cell bank.