A biomimetic approach to preventing infections in transepithelial implants

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In Canada, one in every nine hospital patients contracts a healthcare-associated infection. Each year, there are more than 220,000 cases of infections in our hospitals, resulting in at least 8,000 deaths. Infections often occur due to the presence of catheters, infusion pumps, or implants (usually dental or orthopedic) that penetrate through the skin, thus breaking the continuous seal that protects our body from the outer environments. These are called "percutaneous medical devices". While current treatments for infections arebased on antibiotics, our project proposes a completely different approach, which will also address the rising global public health challenge that poses antibiotic resistance. We take inspiration from natural organs that, like the percutaneous devices, also breach the skin: teeth. Although teeth break through the gums, healthy teeth are not prone to infection due to the tight seal that they can form with the gum tissue. Our preliminary work showed that proteins present in teeth are key elements that contribute to the seal between teeth and gum tissue. In this one-year project, we will study which segments of the tooth proteins are most important for tissue binding, and we will then attach these protein segments to the surface of biomaterials that are used in percutaneous orthopedic and dental implants. This will create a new generation of percutaneous implants based on biomaterials that are able to strongly bind with the skin, thus preventing infections much like our natural percutaneous organs, teeth, are able to do. This project is a collaboration between two researchers with complementary expertise in materials science and material surfaces (Cerruti, McGill University) and dental materials and synthetic and natural biomolecules (Aparicio, International University of Catalonia, Spain). The two researchers have an excellent record of publications, excellence in scientific achievements, and commitment to EDI practices. Combining their expertise and the facilities available at the two Universities will ensure success of this catalyst project, which will provide ground for fundings for a longer-term project that will tackle the problem of hospital-associated infections on a larger scale.