Pain is a significant clinical problem, because all existing analgesics have major side effects and are also poorly effective in many clinically important types of pain. A membrane ion channel, TRPV1, which is activated by heat, is critical for pain because when tissues are damaged, inflammatory mediators lower the temperature threshold of TRPV1 so that it can be activated even by normal body heat and thus cause ongoing pain. We have discovered how to prevent the effects of inflammatory mediators on TRPV1. A scaffolding protein, AKAP79, forms a "basket" structure which holds close to TRPV1the enzymes responsible for lowering its threshold. We have identified the binding site and can prevent binding using competitor peptides. These peptides give good analgesia in a mouse models of pain, including in a model of diabetic neuropathy, an intractable human pain condition. We will develop improved TRPV1-AKAP79 blocking peptides as better analgesics for intractable forms of pain.

There has been significant research investment into alternative methods of energy production that reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. With the exception of nuclear or neo-fossil fuels (e.g. biofuels), these resources (e.g. solar, wind) are neither generated nor converted into useful forms of energy (electric or mechanical) at the 'point of use' or 'on-demand' and require storage and a substantial delivery network. Battery technology will be an intrinsic part of the development of alternative energy strategies. However battery technology, whilst boasting large storage capability, is an essentially electrochemical process, and requires significant charging-up times. Therefore one cannot currently recharge electric car batteries as quickly as filling up a car with petrol. Equally, low capacity and high recharge-times of batteries in mobile devices (lap-tops, mobile phones) limits their ability to contain more functionality. It is obvious that the next breakthrough technology in mobile devices will be in their power packs. Supercapacitors are strong contenders to provide both high capacity and fast storage/release of energy. Capacitors, as every sixth form science student is aware, can store charge between two electrodes separated by an insulator (the dielectric). The key difference in supercapacitors is that the dielectric is an inherent part of each electrode, and charge is stored within nanoporous pathways within the dielectric. Moving or storing charge without an electrochemical change ( the method of storage in conventional batteries) means supercapacitor charge/discharge rates are fast leading to high power densities. Therefore supercapacitors using dielectrics with large surface area densities (i.e. internal surface per unit volume) from nanoporous materials will have energy densities resembling batteries whilst retaining the fast discharge/charge rates of supercapacitors. In this proposal, we use a radical new patented technology to generate dielectrics with high surface area densities. This is accomplished by introducing highly interconnected nanoscale pores into the materials in a controlled, reliably repeatable way. Certainly making nanoporous materials is not a new idea in itself. However existing methods are either expensive, or too unreliable. Our patent describes a way to do this, that using cheap materials, fast process-times and good reproducibility. This will be important in taking supercapacitor technology, which has been proved in the laboratory, and making it economically viable as a consumer product.

We can use intricately controlled assemblies of metals carved into structures on the scale of a billionth of a metre, to funnel and concentrate light into tiny volumes of space. This 'nano-optics' allows us to access for the first time small numbers of molecules and atoms moving around in real time. Even more interesting we can start to use light to control the movement of molecules and atoms, since it can produce strong forces directly at the nanoscale. In this research, we plan to use our new-found ability to concentrate on a whole range of physical phenomena that underlie devices at the heart of healthcare, information technology, and energy production. For instance we can watch how lithium ions move into and out of a small fragment of battery, and how the deformations of the atomic lattice are produced, which is what determines how long batteries last and how much energy they can store. Another project uses light to move gold atoms around inside larger carbon-based molecules, to control what colour they absorb at, and what molecules they can sense. Further projects build wallpapers constructed from tiny flipping components that produce colour changes on demand, the precursor to walls that change colour at the flick of a switch or display images or text on the side of lorries. Underpinning all this are serious advances in learning how to build such structures reliably, so anyone can make use of our new ideas. We understand very little about what happens when we put molecules inside such compressed nano-cavities for light, and these fundamentals will open up new areas. This research also crucially helps us understand what new properties we can create, and predicts how to improve them best. This will lay open many of the new technologies of the next century.

It is a major problem to exploit the new ideas emerging from the Photonics/Plasmonics/Metamaterials academic community (in which the UK is strong) for real-world applications. In this field, the intricate structure of metals and dielectrics on the nanoscale produces radically new optical properties which are the basis for many devices and materials. However because the nanoscale architectures are designed by academics with little thought to manufacturability, most of these ideas founder very early against cost, method and volume considerations. We aim to invert this model, examining much more seriously a number of different fabrication routes that look promising for delivering scale-up of manufacturing nanostructures with novel and useful photonic materials and metamaterials functionality. However, blind approaches from considerations only of manufacturability are unlikely to locate useful functionalities. As a result we are strongly guided by a set of successful platforms developed over the last 5 years, which already embed the promise of scale-up due to their use of bottom-up self-assembly. In this programme, we develop such directed-assembly towards real capabilities for manufacturing. Success in this domain will be directly exploited by a number of UK companies, both large and small, but even more importantly will be transformative for UK approaches to manufacturing. Despite huge investments in top-down nanofabrication in the UK, little commercial return has been produced. Alternative approaches based on self-assembly already have traction (for instance inside Unilever), and offer routes to mass-scale production with a cost model that is realistic. What industry needs is not the ideas, but a well-developed research programme into the manufacturing space that will allow them to make use of these advances. Our programme will deliver this through tightly coupling nanoassembly, nanophotonics, and nano-manufacturing.

Graphene has many record properties. It is transparent like (or better than) plastic, but conducts heat and electricity better than any metal, it is an elastic thin film, behaves as an impermeable membrane, and it is chemically inert and stable. Thus it is ideal for the production of next generation transparent conductors. Thin and flexible graphene-based electronic components may be obtained and modularly integrated, and thin portable devices may be assembled and distributed. Graphene can withstand dramatic mechanical deformation, for instance it can be folded without breaking. Foldable devices can be imagined, together with a wealth of new form factors, with innovative concepts of integration and distribution. At present, the realisation of an electronic device (such as, e.g., a mobile phone) requires the assembly of a variety of components obtained by many technologies. Graphene, by including different properties within the same material, can offer the opportunity to build a comprehensive technological platform for the realisation of almost any device component, including transistors, batteries, optoelectronic components, photovoltaic cells, (photo)detectors, ultrafast lasers, bio- and physicochemical sensors, etc. Such a change in the paradigm of device manufacturing would revolutionise the global industry. UK will have the chance to re-acquire a prominent position within the global Information and Communication Technology industry, by exploiting the synergy of excellent researchers and manufacturers. Our vision is to take graphene from a state of raw potential to a point where it can revolutionise flexible, wearable and transparent (opto)electronics, with a manifold return for UK, in innovation and exploitation. Graphene has benefits both in terms of cost-advantage, and uniqueness of attributes and performance. It will enable cheap, energy autonomous and disposable devices and communication systems, integrated in transparent and flexible surfaces, with application to smart homes, industrial processes, environmental monitoring, personal healthcare and more. This will lead to ultimate device wearability, new user interfaces and novel interaction paradigms, with new opportunities in communication, gaming, media, social networking, sport and wellness. By enabling flexible (opto)electronics, graphene will allow the exploitation of the existing knowledge base and infrastructure of companies working on organic electronics (organic LEDs, conductive polymers, printable electronics), and a unique synergistic framework for collecting and underpinning many distributed technical competences. The strategic focus of the proposed Cambridge Graphene Centre will be in activities built around the central challenge of flexible and energy efficient (opto)electronics, for which graphene is a unique enabling platform. This will allow us to 1) grow and produce graphene by chemical vapour deposition and liquid phase exfoliation on large scale; 2) prepare and test inks, up to a controlled and closely monitored pilot line. The target is several litres per week of optimized solutions and inks, ready to be provided to present and future partners for testing in their plants; 3) design, test and produce a variety of flexible, antennas, detectors and RF devices based on graphene and related materials, covering all present and future wavelength ranges; 4) prototype and test flexible batteries and supercapacitors and package them for implementation in realistic devices. Our present and future industrial partners will be able to conduct pilot-phase research and device prototyping in this facility, before moving to larger scale testing in realistic industrial settings. Spin-off companies will be incubated, and start-ups will be able to contract their more fundamental work to this facility.