Gareth Cave

Research areas

Professor Gareth Cave specialises in nanotechnology and its applications across health, agriculture and materials science. His work focuses on developing sustainable nanomaterials for human health, spanning medical imaging agents, targeted drug delivery and novel approaches to neurodegenerative diseases, alongside innovative solutions for animal health and wellbeing.

He leads research into food security through crop disease control, biofortification, and seed technologies, as well as sustainable animal feed systems. His expertise also extends to functional materials, including semiconductors, phosphors, advanced coatings, and cosmetics, with a particular emphasis on antimicrobial and anti-pathogenic technologies.

Cave’s research team is highly interdisciplinary, combining chemistry, biotechnology and materials science to deliver impactful solutions with direct industrial, medical and societal applications.

His Advancing Nanotechnology for Global Impact research embraces environmentally sustainable approaches to cost-effective high throughput synthetic routes to a range of innovative materials that have found industry applications across seven verticals:

• Human Health – Development of medical contrast agents, targeted drug delivery systems, anti-glycation therapies, and nanotechnology approaches for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia.
• Animal Health & Wellbeing – Creation of advanced nutritional supplements and veterinary applications for poultry, ruminants, pigs, equine, insects and companion animals.
• Food Security & Plant Science – Research into crop disease control, biofortification, seed coating technologies, and vertical farming to enhance yield, nutrition and sustainability.
• Green & Sustainable Nanomaterials – Design of environmentally friendly nanotechnologies to support health, agriculture and industrial applications.
• Electronics & Advanced Materials – Innovation in phosphors, semiconductors, printable electronics and functional coatings.
• Anti-Pathogenic Solutions – Development of antimicrobial respirators, surface coatings, and filtration systems to combat infection and improve public health.
• Cosmetics & Consumer Applications – Nanotechnology for sunscreens, pigments and advanced formulations in skincare and beauty products.

Opportunities to carry out postgraduate research towards an PhD by research exist in all the areas identified above. Further information may be obtained from the NTU Graduate School.

Press expertise

• Food supplements / fortification
• Drug delivery
• Medical imaging
• Biofuels
• Hydrogen storage
• Lab scale up
• Nanoscience
• Nanotechnology
• Green technologies