SCIENTISTS in Wirral are to use a £1m package from the Government to help search for a fabric that will never need to be cleaned. The Unilever team will also be using atomic miscroscopes to help develop hair products that will stop human hair from curling. In total, five North West businesses have been given £18m to carry out a series of nanotechnology projects. Nanotechnology means working on particles that measure a thousand-millionth of a metre. One of the biggest grants in the region, just over £1m, has been given to Unilever for a project at Port Sunlight to carry out a nanoscale analysis of microfibres. Last night, Dr Peter Doyle, of Unilever, said: "We are delighted to be receiving this grant from the Department of Trade and Industry. "Nanotechnology means looking at things down to something the size of an atom. We will be looking at fibres and human hairs. "By looking at materials at such a level, we can learn a lot and develop new products. "It will be possible to add stain-resistant properties to fabrics, for instance, and I am sure that is something we will be looking at. We are also interested in personal care products and will be looking at the structural materials of human hair. "It will help us produce designer products such as hair care items that can stop hair from becoming frizzy. "Nature already operates at a nano scale level and, by being able to operate ourselves at that level, we will get a greater understanding of the things that nature can do. It is all very exciting." Unilever is working on the project with the University of Sheffield, ICI and the National Physical Laboratory in Middlesex. Alan McKinnon, Director of Laboratory at Unilever in Port Sunlight, said: "What is new about the emerging nano-science is the ability to see things at the minutest levels. It will give us the ability to change and manipulate things on an atom-by-atom basis." Nanotechnology projects in Runcorn and Newton-le-Willows will also be given grants as part of the hand-out. The grants cover up to 50% of the total value. The grants are the first to be allocated from the Govern- ment's £90m micro and nanotechnology manufac- turing initiative in support of nanotechnology applied research programmes and the creation of nanotechnology facilities. Further grants will be made available over the next five years. Announcing the grants, DTI Minister Nigel Griffiths said: "Nanotechnology is an important and exciting emerging technology, one that has the capacity to improve daily life for us all. "It is about designing new products and improving existing ones by making things much smaller, faster, stronger or more energy efficient."Other North West projects in the grants allocation include: * £1,350,361 for Microfluidic sorting, processing and analysis of viable cells, InsightFaraday (LGC), Runcorn. * £500,000 for a new Microsystem for Fast Fuel Cell Materials Evaluation, InsightFaraday (LGC), Runcorn. * £258,728 for anti-microbial urinary catheters, Micap, Newton-le-Willows. larryneild@dailypost.co.uk | 
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