Biofilm Resistant Liquid-like Solid Surfaces in Flow Situations

流动情况下的生物膜抗液体状固体表面

• 批准号: EP/V049615/2
• 负责人: Jinju Chen
• 金额: $ 26.18万
• 依托单位: Loughborough University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FV049615%2F2
• 关键词: Biofilm; Resistant; Liquid; like; Solid

Biofilms are microbial cells embedded within a self-secreted extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix which adhere to substrates. Biofilms are central to some of the most urgent global challenges across diverse fields of application, from medicine to industry to the environment and exert considerable economic and social impact. For example, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in hospitals has been estimated to cause additional health-care costs of £1-2.5 billion in the United Kingdom alone (Ramstedt et al, Macromolec. Biosci. 19, 2019) and to cause over 2000 deaths per year (Feneley et al, J. Med. Eng. Technol. 39, 2015). To combat biofilm growth on surfaces, chemical-based approaches using immobilization of antimicrobial agents (i.e. antibiotics, silver particles) can trigger antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but are often not sustainable. Alternatively, bio-inspired nanostructured surfaces (e.g. cicada wing, lotus leaf) can be used, but their effects often may not last. A recent innovation in creating slippery surfaces has been inspired by the slippery surface strategy of the carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plant. These slippery surfaces involve the impregnation of a porous or textured solid surface with a liquid lubricant locked-in to the structure. Such liquid surfaces have been shown to have promise as antifouling surfaces by inhibiting the direct access to the solid surface for biofilm attachment, adhesion and growth. However, the antibiofilm performance of these new liquid surfaces under flow conditions remains a concern due to flow-induced depletion of lubricant. Here we propose a novel anti-biofilm surface by creating permanently bound slippery liquid-like solid surfaces. Success would transform our understanding about bacteria living on surfaces and open-up new design paradigms for the development of next generation antibiofilm surfaces for a wide range of applications (e.g. biomedical devices and ship hulls). To enable the successful delivery of this project, it requires us to combine cross-disciplinary skills ranging from materials chemistry, physical and chemical characterisations of materials surfaces, nanomechanics, microbiology, biomechanics, to computational mechanics. The project objectives well align with EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Grand Challenges, addressing the topics of controlling the amount of physical intervention required, optimizing treatment, and transforming community health and care. In parallel, we shall contribute to the advancement of Cross-Cutting Research Capabilities (e.g. advanced materials, future manufacturing technologies and sustainable design of medical devices) that are essential for delivering these Grand Challenges. In particular, this research will employ nanomechanical tests to determine bacteria adhesion and microfluidics techniques for biofilm characterisation, which enables us to create novel approaches in computational engineering through the formulation and validation of sophisticated numerical models of bacteria attachment and biofilm mechanics.

生物膜是微生物细胞包埋在粘附于基质的自分泌胞外聚合物（EPS）基质中。生物膜是从医学到工业再到环境等不同应用领域中一些最紧迫的全球性挑战的核心，并产生相当大的经济和社会影响。例如，据估计，仅在英国，医院中的导管相关尿路感染（CANTI）就造成了10亿至25亿英镑的额外医疗保健成本（Ramstedt等人，Macromolec. Biosci. 19，2019），并且每年导致超过2000例死亡（Feneley等人，J.Med.Eng.Technol.39，2015）。 为了对抗表面上的生物膜生长，使用抗微生物剂（即抗生素、银颗粒）的固定化的基于化学的方法可以触发抗微生物剂抗性（AMR），但通常是不可持续的。或者，可以使用生物启发的纳米结构表面（例如，荷叶），但它们的效果通常可能不会持久。最近一项创造光滑表面的创新是受到食肉猪笼草的光滑表面策略的启发。这些光滑表面涉及用锁定到结构中的液体润滑剂浸渍多孔或纹理化固体表面。这种液体表面已经显示出通过抑制直接接近固体表面用于生物膜附着、粘附和生长而具有作为生物膜表面的前景。然而，由于流动引起的润滑剂损耗，这些新液体表面在流动条件下的油膜性能仍然是一个问题。在这里，我们提出了一种新的抗生物膜表面，通过创建永久绑定光滑的液体状固体表面。成功将改变我们对生活在表面上的细菌的理解，并为开发下一代生物膜表面的广泛应用（例如生物医学设备和船体）开辟新的设计范例。 为了使该项目能够成功交付，需要我们将材料化学、材料表面的物理和化学表征、纳米力学、微生物学、生物力学到计算力学等跨学科技能联合收割机结合起来。该项目的目标与EPSRC医疗保健技术大挑战保持一致，解决了控制所需的物理干预量，优化治疗以及转变社区卫生和护理等主题。与此同时，我们将致力于推进跨领域研究能力（例如先进材料、未来制造技术和医疗器械的可持续设计），这对实现这些重大挑战至关重要。特别是，这项研究将采用纳米力学测试来确定细菌粘附和微流体技术的生物膜表征，这使我们能够通过制定和验证复杂的细菌附着和生物膜力学的数值模型，在计算工程中创造新的方法。