Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University establish new research center
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University receive DKK 39.4 million from the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science to establish a new research center focusing on the potential of neutron-based methods to revolutionize pharmaceutical and food sciences.
The purpose of the European Spallation Source (ESS) Lighthouse: Colloids and Interfaces in Food and Pharma (CaIFF) will investigate how small structures—such as those formed by lipids, proteins, and polymers in complex formulations—develop and behave. These insights could help address challenges, including improving plant-based food products, enhancing drug absorption in the human body, and designing advanced delivery systems for targeted treatments.
The center unites 16 research groups from the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University, with additional collaborations involving the Danish Technical University and the University of Southern Denmark. Together, these groups will work to harness the opportunities provided by advanced neutron- and synchrotron-based methodologies such as small-angle scattering, reflectometry, and tomography, paired with theoretical modeling and data analysis.
“Through long-term engagement and collaboration with ESS beyond what is possible with traditional research projects, we hope to be able to contribute to pushing experimental methodologies and analysis tools forward,” says Jan Skov Pedersen, Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University and principal investigator.
Contact
Professor Jan Skov Pedersen
Aarhus University
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO)
Department of Chemistry
Email: jsp@chem.au.dk