Novel anti-microbial metallic surfaces for infection control

概述：2000年至2010年间，全球抗生素使用量增加了40%，再加上国际旅行和移民，使得耐药病原体得以传播。全球缺乏有效的抗菌剂，一些感染现在没有治疗方法。英国政府的抗菌素耐药性审查(AMR)估计，到2050年，每年将有1000万人死于AMR感染。AMR的影响将不仅体现在发病率和死亡率方面，还将体现在经济方面，大致情况是，如果没有找到新的抗菌治疗方法，那么到2050年，世界经济将损失其国内生产总值的7%，100.2万亿美元。目前，在欧洲，每年有3.3万人死于在医院期间感染的疾病。在英国，传染病也是一个重大的健康和经济负担，占死亡人数的7%，每年花费300亿英镑。由于缺乏正在开发的新制剂和缺乏减少微生物传播的替代战略，有效的抗微生物治疗方法的短缺更加严重。防止抗生素耐药性细菌传播的新方法，特别是在脆弱人群中，如医疗保健系统中的那些，可以减少医疗保健相关感染的数量，并减少抗生素的使用。赞助商公司将与斯旺西大学合作，努力寻找有效的纳米存储系统，展示其在减少或防止表面微生物生长方面的有效性，并证明该技术可以减少表面上的抗生素耐药性细菌。由于在医院环境中的高使用率，表面需要高度耐用，并且不会在触摸时引起人体反应。研究工程师将专注于研究纳米存储结构的特性，并通过使用抗生素敏感性方法来评估其对抗生素耐药细菌(例如金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌)的有效性。项目目标：1.开发可与一系列抗菌剂有效结合的新型纳米储存库。确定最有效的包衣技术，以实现抗菌剂的最佳释放。3.确定一系列临床相关的抗生素敏感和耐药菌株是否被新的表面/系统抑制。确定哪个表面/系统具有最广泛的活动范围。确定暴露时间如何影响正在考虑的表面/系统的功效。预测结果：-关于其新表面的抗微生物活性和功效的知识。-确定用于感染控制产品的最佳材料组合。-材料释放机制的功效：随机/自然、触发和定向。-原型部署。-论文出版。

Overview:Worldwide antibiotic use rose by 40% between 2000 and 2010, which combined with international travel and migration has allowed antimicrobial resistant pathogens to spread. There is a global shortage of effective antimicrobial agents, and for some infections there are now no treatments. The UK government's Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has estimated that by 2050, 10 million people a year will die from AMR infections. The impact of AMR will not be seen only in terms of morbidity and mortality but also in the economy with an approximation that if no new antimicrobial treatments are found then by 2050 the world economy will have lost 7% of its GDP, $100.2 trillion. Currently every year in Europe 33,000 people die from infections they have caught whilst in hospital. Infectious diseases are a significant health and economic burden in the UK also, accounting for 7% of deaths and annual costs of £30bn. The shortage of effective antimicrobial treatments has been compounded by the lack of novel agents in development and a lack of alternative strategies to reduce microbial spread. New ways of preventing the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria especially amongst vulnerable populations, such as those in the healthcare system could reduce the number of healthcare associated infections and reduce antibiotic usage. The sponsor company in collaboration with Swansea University will work to identify effective nano reservoir systems, show the effectiveness at reducing or preventing microbial growth on the surface, and prove the technology can create a reduction in antibiotic resistant bacteria on surfaces. The surfaces need to be highly durable and not cause a reaction to humans upon touch, due to the high usage in a hospital environment.The Research Engineer will focus on investigating the properties of the nano reservoir structures and to assess their efficacy against antibiotic resistant bacteria (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) by using antibiotic susceptibility methods. Project Aims:1. Develop novel nano reservoirs that can be combined effectively with a range of anti-microbial agents.2. Determine the most effective coating technique to allow optimal release of antimicrobial agents. 3. To determine whether a range of clinically relevant antibiotic sensitive and antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria are inhibited by novel surfaces/systems.4. To establish which surface/system has the broadest range of activity.5. To ascertain how the duration of exposure impacts on the efficacy of the surface/system under consideration.Predicted outcomes:- Knowledge about the antimicrobial activity and efficacy of their novel surfaces.- Identify the best material combinations for incorporation into infection control products.- Efficacy of material release mechanisms: stochastic/natural, triggered and directed.- Prototype deployment.- Paper publication.