A "wonder gel", which began life as a hunch in a Bradford University laboratory, could be about to bring the oil barons of the world knocking on the city's door.

The pioneering hydrogel, discovered by two lecturers, is believed to have more than 30 pioneering uses, from growing skins cells to transporting drugs around the body.

But a spin-off business is taking advantage of its magical properties by targeting the multi-billion oil industry.

Major oil companies are cottoning on to the gel's ability to separate oil and water which can improve the efficiency of their wells by around a third.

Advanced Gel Technology will officially open its new base at Listerhills Science Park tomorrow. But the company is already producing the equivalent of 500 tonnes of the "wonder gel" for export to the oil giants of North America.

More than £1 million in investment was secured to launch the company, 20 per cent of which is owned by the university.

Chairman Gordon Feather said: "We took this scientific breakthrough and wrapped the company around it.

"The oil industry is a very conservative industry and until we have got a product with a sufficient track record then we won't get the response we desire.

"But if the gel proves successful the oil companies will find their way here and we will be awash with orders. Imagine what the impact on production and facilities will be at that level.

"It is quite unique. As far as we know this is the only solution that has a density greater than oil and less than water."

The gel was discovered by Dr Nicholas Crowther and Dr Donald Eagland, pictured.

Dr Crowther, 46, who went to Denholme Primary School, has been involved with Bradford University for 20 years as a student and lecturer.

He said: "We began working with a particle chemical because we realised it had a lot of potential. Then we stumbled across the possibilities of a gel and started to use our imaginations."

The pair have revealed the "wonder gel" is made almost entirely of water yet can thicken to produce a material 100 to 1,000 times stronger than any other gel of its kind. A liquid form of the drug can be sprayed onto oil spillages and, as it thickens, rolled up like a carpet.

It is composed of two long, elastic-type molecules which form strong bonds with each other to form a three dimensional network, similar to a cage, which holds in the water. It also has the ability to absorb any liquid, either water or oil based, and is also able to support a variety of living cells including bacteria, but it is extremely resistant to heat.

Dr Crowther added: "There will be massive rewards for the university from this initiative."