Throw in the mix 25 imprinters with 45 scientists working in the field of tissue engineering, 3D printing and hydrogels – and then you get the Bioinspired Materials conference. It was a local symposium in 2016 but this years’ event, sponsored by the RSC Materials Division, grew to an international 2-day conference in 2017. The unique strength is its multidisciplinary nature, and polymer chemists were frequently asked during the event “Is there a sensor you can develop to measure this?”

 

Two sessions were specifically covering MIP related topics, while other areas that were discussed included tissue engineering, self-assembly and hydrogels. Thanks to cheap RyanAir tickets to Manchester, 70 delegates attended the conference with a large proportion (30%) from Europe. Our invited speaker in the field of MIPs was Dr. Michael Whitcombe, current President of the Society of Molecular Imprinting. Other notable MIP speakers included Prof. Bart van Grinsven (Maastricht University), Catherine Branger, Knut Rurack, Katri Laatikainen, Verona Iordache, amongst many other excellent speakers and poster contributions. There were several opportunities to network and discuss science, including at the conference dinner that took place at the Albert Square Chop House. Participants were treated to an overload of cheesecake and a quiz about Manchester and its scientists.

With surprisingly pleasant weather during both days, the delegates had the chance to discover the city of Manchester. In addition, at the end of the conference there was an organized visit to the labs of Manchester Metropolitan University and a demonstration of our 3D-printing facilities.  Personally, I thought this was a very successful event: it was the perfect opportunity to not only catch up with the latest advances in the field of MIPs, but also to see how we can integrate imprinting technology with other areas of research. Special congratulations to Miss Kornelia Gawlitza from Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (Berlin) for her work on polymeric fluorescent probes that won her the best poster prize presentation.

More information can be found on our website, http://www.mmu.ac.uk/bioinspired and through our social media account @bioinspired17. I hope you enjoyed the event as much as I did and that in 2018 we are able to unite the ‘imprinting community’ again.

Organized by: Dr. Marloes Peeters (Manchester Metropolitan University)