Analytical Instruments Advance Chemistry at London Research Hub

A suite of analytical instruments enabling precise chemical measurement has been opened at Imperial College London’s (ICL) Molecular Sciences Research Hub based on the new campus at White City. The Agilent Measurement Suite (AMS), a collaboration between Agilent and ICL will help researchers tackle problems in areas ranging from health and environment to energy and fundamental biology. It will also serve as demonstration lab and showcase for potential customer and collaborators. The partnership is expected to drive research forward, but also to direct future instrument development in line with scientific needs.

At the opening event (March 6), Imperial’s President, Professor Alice Gast, said: “We are creating an ecosystem of multidisciplinary research and innovation here at White City, with buildings like this and the Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub, but also a culture of making with facilities like the Invention Rooms.

“I am pleased to welcome Agilent into this ecosystem and look forward to seeing the collaboration push forward research on societal challenges, from understanding disease on a molecular level to developing clean sources of energy.

The Academic Director of the AMS, Professor Tony Cass from the Department of Chemistry at Imperial, gave an overview of some of the areas of research already lined up for the new instruments, including investigations into the human ‘microbiomes’ – the communities of bacteria that live in different areas of our bodies – and exploration of environmental questions, such as arsenic concentrations in drinking water globally and the prevalence of pesticides on fruit, along with fundamental research into proteins and chemical imaging of molecules.

Jack Wenstrand, Agilent's director of University Relations and External Research, said: “Agilent’s products and the collaborative engagement of our technical staff will accelerate academic research at Imperial as we explore measurement needs of the future.”