Intelligently Designed Antimicrobial Surfaces - IDEAS

Project summary

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified the increasing use of systemic antibiotics, which is generating strains of lethal microbes that are resistant to conventional treatment, as a major global threat. Alongside the EU commission, the WHO has declared that preventing and combating microbial infections is one of the most important problems facing the world in the next few years and has called for increased research and development. It is estimated that over 16 million patients worldwide suffer from chronic wounds each year and over 40% of these will become infected, resulting in a delayed healing process. (Epsicon 2007). Recent research has shown that physical and chemical nano-features and nano-patterns on surfaces can be highly effective at reducing initial adhesion of bacterial cells to different materials. There is now an opportunity to translate basic research into applied research and innovation in surface and interface materials of relevance in the healthcare sector. The IDEAS project aims to exploit the properties of physical and chemical nano-patterns and topographical functionalisation to reduce microbial attachment attack and biofilm formation on key materials used throughout the healthcare industry and, in particular, in the advanced wound-dressings sector. There is a need for new technologies to enable antimicrobials, antibiotics and pharmaceuticals to be topically applied in wound dressings and other medical devices to accelerate wound healing, thus combating hazardous biofilms formation and also reducing the threat of creating resistant bacteria. As a consortium led by an industrial health care specialist and two surface nanotechnology coatings companies, we aim to create a knowledge-based toolkit developed specifically to facilitate the intelligent design of advanced antimicrobial surfaces and interfaces. With this toolkit, the three industrial organisations involved in this project will be able to develop new highly competitive healthcare products with reduced bacterial attachment properties and antimicrobial activities.