---
title: "5112.SH.JN - High Yield Electrospinning System"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077a4d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077a4d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a4d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a4d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD"
published: "2026-09-25"
---

# 5112.SH.JN - High Yield Electrospinning System

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077a4d

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## Summary

The University of Sheffield bought a high-yield electrospinning system for its School of Clinical Dentistry. The equipment supports production of flexible microfiber patches designed to adhere to the oral mucosa and deliver drugs and other therapeutics directly to it. The team has developed patches that can carry small lipophilic compounds as well as larger molecules such as peptides and proteins, with rapid release and retained activity. The system is also intended to support adaptation of the technology for mRNA vaccine delivery, following a UKRI Engineering Biology Mission Award. This is a laboratory and precision-equipment purchase, delivered for the university’s work in Sheffield.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Bioinicia Fluidnatek S.L., a supplier based in Spain. The contract was signed on 9 September 2026 and runs from 16 September 2026 to 10 December 2027. Its value is £118,600 including gross value as stated. The purchase was handled below the applicable threshold using a method recorded as unknown. There was one lot, covering the electrospinning system, and the lot and award are complete and active respectively. The published data identifies the award and supplier but does not set out a separate scoring or evaluation basis.

For suppliers tracking demand in specialist laboratory equipment, this purchase shows the University of Sheffield investing in electrospinning capacity for clinical dentistry research and therapeutic-material development. A credible competitor for a comparable future requirement would need to supply a high-yield electrospinning system suited to producing microfiber patches, and demonstrate that the equipment can support work with polymer solutions or melts and the manufacture of flexible fibres for oral-mucosa delivery applications. Relevant capability would include understanding the demands of drug and advanced-therapeutic loading and release, including research involving both small compounds and larger biological molecules. The selected supplier is an SME, indicating that a specialist supplier can compete for this scale of equipment purchase; the requirement is focused on a technical system rather than a broad laboratory fit-out.

## Notice

A team at the School of Clinical Dentistry have developed a novel microfiber-based mucoadhesive oral matrix that can deliver drugs and advanced therapeutics directly to the oral mucosa. This technology is highly acceptable to patients and has been evaluated for clinical use in human studies. The team at Sheffield are world leading. We have reported that such matrices can incorporate and release a range of lipophilic, low molecular mass compounds that rapidly diffuse throughout the mucosa following release and without loss of properties. Moreover, we have incorporated larger macromolecules such as peptides and proteins and achieved high loading efficiency, rapid release profiles and retention of functional activity. The patches are prepared using electrospinning, a versatile, voltage-driven manufacturing technique that uses electrostatic forces to draw and stretch polymer solutions or melts into continuous micro- and nanofibers. Electrospinning offers the production of patches that are flexible, enabling them to conform to wet, curved and dynamic surfaces. Furthermore, their high surface-to-volume ratio facilitates efficient drug loading/release and sustained mucoadhesive interactions, leading to prolonged tissue residence time. The team have recently secured a UKRI Engineering Biology Mission Award for the adaptation of the technology for mRNA vaccine delivery. For this award we require a high yield electrospinning system.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090898-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - unknown |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 25 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 16 Sep 2026 - 10 Dec 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £118,600 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD |
| Locality | SHEFFIELD |
| Postcode area | Sheffield |
| Postcode | S10 2TN |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield |
| Local authority | Sheffield |
| Electoral ward | Broomhill and Sharrow Vale |
| Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Bioinicia Fluidnatek S.L. |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

## Release History

- 25 Sep 2026 at 11:15 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090898-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090898-2026
  25th September 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077a4d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a4d.json.