SENTINAL network working to develop applications for bioactive paper

The SENTINAL Bioactive Paper Network has unveiled its first product designed to indicate the presence of air, water and food-borne pathogens using paper. The nanoscale breakthrough marks the first time Network researchers have been able to coat cellulose fibre with a bioactive compound that can detect bacteria and viruses, with potential applications in health care, food inspection and the treatment of air, soil and water.

SENTINAL is funded over a five-year period with $7.5 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and $3 million from industrial and government partners. It can trace its roots back to the Mechanical Wood-Pulps Network (MWPN), a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) that expired after a 15-year run in 2004. The MWPN received $500,000 from the NCE's transitional Research Management Fund, which led to the creation of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Network for Innovation in Education and Research (PAPIER) (R$, October 27/03).

PAPIER developed several research proposals including one on nanoparticles, which morphed into SENTINAL.

"It didn't pass the first review by NSERC. They felt it didn't hang together as an NSERC strategic network and advised us to focus, so we came up with bioactive paper,' says George Rosenberg, SENTINAL's managing director. "Now it's one of the largest NSERC networks (and) we're the largest effort in the world in this area."

SENTINAL is headquartered at McMaster Univ and is comprised of 27 researchers from 10 Canadian universities, nine industrial partners and two government members — the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Materials and Manufacturing and the NRC's Institute for Biological Sciences.

Led by scientific director Dr Ronald Pelton (professor of chemical engineering, McMaster), SENTINAL is a classic research-driven network distinguished by multi-disciplinary research teams and a research focus that is drawing considerable industry interest. Although Pelton oversees the science, the network's board of directors is ultimately accountable and chaired by an industry representative. Industry members pay $250,000 each to become a network member and have first right of refusal for any intellectual property (IP) generated by the research. IP remains with the university.

"SENTINAL is about creating knowledge and skill that my company or other companies can take and turn into products," says Peter Ham, VP product development at Tembec Inc and SENTINAL's board chair. "It's clearly long-term research (but) we decided we wanted to participate right at the beginning and have an opportunity to have some direct influence and see things sooner."

SENTINAL is in preliminary discussions with McMaster's business school to see if its graduate students and post docs — a mixture of biological and chemistry student — can receive entrepreneurship training. It is also keen to expand its research into the international realm and is in discussions with Finnish research interests about potential collaboration.

"The Finns have certain strengths on the manufacturing side that we want to take advantage of, such as printing electronics that might be good for what we're doing," says Rosenberg. "If there's an opportunity for collaboration, we will look for funding to do international research.

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