MUBANY - Mechanistically Understand the Bactericidal Action of Nanopillar Topography

受自然启发的纳米涂层表面展示了一种可以控制细菌在表面定植的方法，这也是本研究旨在发现的。正是支撑机制尚未完全解决，阻碍了新型抗菌表面的开发及其在现实世界中的应用。MUBANY的目标是研究纳米管表面和细菌细胞壁之间的相互作用导致细胞死亡的动力学，重点是在纳米尺度上破译时间分辨的相互作用。第一次，表面附着细菌的代谢活性将通过拉曼光谱和稳定同位素探测相结合的方法进行评估，与细菌的活/死筛选相关。该项目将在相关工作流程中将一套互补的2D/3D成像模式与低温样品制备方法相结合，推动当前最先进的实践。这一方法将建立地面真实数据，以阐明纳米粒子地形的杀菌机制。将使用制成的纳米聚合物表面作为测试衬底来确定实现最佳杀菌活性的最有效的表面参数。这项奖学金将使申请者能够进行原创和强大的研究计划，使他处于新兴的生物纳米材料领域的前沿。一个广泛的培训计划将支持申请者获得先进纳米制造、相关显微镜、定量数据分析方面的研究技能，并提高他在沟通、拨款撰写和项目管理方面的可转移技能。申请者将把他的职业关系网扩展到英国和欧盟。这项研究的社会经济效益超越了明显的科学和健康成果，通过计划的公共参与活动提高了公民对多学科研究方法的认识，以应对诸如抗菌素耐药性等关键的全球挑战。

Nature-inspired nanopillared surfaces demonstrate a means by which bacterial colonisation on surfaces can be controlled, and to do so is what this research aims to discover. It is the underpinning mechanism that is not yet fully resolved, impeding the development of novel antimicrobial surfaces and their implementation in real-world applications. MUBANY aims to investigate the kinetics of interactions between nanopillar surfaces and bacterial cell wall leading to cell death, focusing on deciphering time-resolved interactions at nanometer scales. For the first time, the metabolic activity of the surface attached bacteria will be assessed by Raman spectroscopy coupled with stable isotope probing in correlation with live/dead screening of bacteria. The project will combine a complementary suite of 2D/3D imaging modalities in a correlative workflow with a cryogenic sample preparation method, advancing the current state-of-the-art practices. This approach will establish ground truth data to elucidate the bactericidal mechanism of nanopillar topography. The most effective surface parameters to achieve optimal bactericidal activity will be determined using fabricated nanopillar polymer surfaces as test substrates. This fellowship will enable the applicant to conduct an original and robust research program, placing him at the forefront of an emerging field of bio-nanomaterials. An extensive training program will support the applicant to gain research skills in advanced nanofabrication, correlative microscopy, quantitative data analysis and improve his transferrable skills in communication, grant writing, and project management. The applicant will extend his professional network to the UK and EU. The socio-economic benefits of this research extend beyond the obvious scientific and health outcomes with planned public engagement activities raising citizen awareness of multidisciplinary research approaches to combat critical global challenges like antimicrobial resistance.