Current projects include the development of coatings for the authentication of items and products of value.  These nano-material coatings can confer a unique forensic signature or barcode to an item which can enable it to be identified as the genuine article and to deter counterfeiting as well as to assist recovery and return to the righful owner if the item is lost or stolen.

Examples include the development and testing of nano-material coatings for the authentication of objects made using 3D printing.  3D printing or additive manufacturing is enabling companies to design and manufacture their own unique products without the reliance on expensive mass production manufacturing.  However, as low cost 3D printers are readily available, if a third party gets hold of a copy of the digital file encoding the object they can easily make illicit replicas.  The technology we are developing will enable the 3D printer substrates (plastics or metal, etc) to be coated with a tailored nano-material.  When the coated substrate is used to produce the 3D object the unique molecular signature or barcode contained in the nano-coating will be embedded throughout the object.  If there is ever a dispute regards the authenticity of the object, forensic laboratory tests can be undertaken to reveal the molecular signature and validate if the object is genuine or not.