Surface treatments for drains to significantly reduce pathogen biofilms in hospitals**

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Healthcare acquired infections (HAIs) are infections that patients receive within hospitals and clinics, and account for an estimated 1.7 million infections, 99,000 associated deaths and $20 billion in healthcare costs each year (in the US). HAI pathogen (such as P. aeruginosa and L. pneumonia) infections are often caused by transmission from contaminated sinks, drains and plumbing systems within intensive care units (ICU) and patient rooms. Also, waterborne disease outbreaks often affect residents of northern Canadian communities due to the susceptibility of drinking water systems to microbial contamination. Pathogen biofilm growth within sinks and drains is a major cause of infectious disease transmission within hospitals. Despite disinfection with bleach and other disinfectants, pathogens habitually colonize plumbing systems. Within hospitals it is often particularly difficult to access, clean and replace the drains, traps and plumbing pipes that can harbour bacterial biofilms. In this proposal we aim to test and optimize a highly non-adhesive silicone coating that significantly limits bacterial biofilm growth over long periods of time (ie; 30 days of continuous flow culture growth is our standard test). Further, this proposal aims to set up and test a whole sink test unit (2 sinks, connected) within our microbiology lab, developed by our industrial partner, Oakville Stamping and Bending (OS&B).****This project represents a unique partnership between us, as a materials science and microbiology group to engineer and test these coatings, and OS&B as a pipe, sink and drain manufacturer (OS&B), who can take this technology towards commercial applications. This partnership will address this important, interdisciplinary problem, and we are heavily invested in finding feasible and real solutions to the problem of biofilm-based disease.**