Sprayable anti-infective and anti-biofilm coatings for industrial, agricultural, and consumer applications

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The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing concerns over emerging antibiotic resistant bacteria have made the development of new approaches to deactivate pathogens on surfaces increasingly critical. The eradication of dense biofilms (combinations of bacteria and extracellular polymers) that can develop in areas as diverse as biomedical implants to bioreactors to oil pipelines is even more challenging than killing a single bacteria, with all of the (very few) products now available for biofilm sterilization requiring the use of very corrosive or environmentally toxic components. While some engineered surfaces have demonstrated potential for the long-term prevention of biofilm formation, all current approaches have drawbacks in terms of their longevity and/or ability to be applied at the point-of-use on diverse surfaces instead of directly during manufacturing. In this Alliance project, a team of researchers from McMaster University will work closely with Suncor Energy to develop sprayable coatings that can adhere to a variety of surfaces to facilitate long-term anti-microbial and anti-biofilm activity over time periods ranging from a few days to several months, depending on the target application. By developing techniques to integrate bioactive formulations identified by Suncor for highly effective bacteria/biofilm deactivation into sprayable polymer and/or hydrogel-based precursor solutions thatcan form thin films upon drying, we aim to develop environmentally-friendly (and in some cases fully bio-based) coatings that can immobilize, stabilize, and control the release of the bioactive agents over time, facilitating surface sterilization relevant to use in agriculture (preventing plant disease to enhance crop yields), consumer products (preventing disease transmission via high-touch surfaces like countertops, door knobs, or transit rails), industrial equipment (maintaining long-term operation of fermentation reactors or oil pipelines), and other applications. The close collaboration between the Suncor and McMaster teams, including on-site work at McMaster by Suncor employees, will ensure an integrated project workflow ideal to collaboratively develop a line of sprayable anti-microbial coatings with health and economic benefits to Canada.