Scientists in the schools of Pharmacy and Molecular Medical Sciences at the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, have discovered what they say is a new class of polymers that are resistant to bacterial attachment. These new materials could lead to a significant reduction in hospital infections and medical device failures.
They say that when the new materials are applied to the surface of medical devices, such as urinary and venous catheters, they repel bacteria at the earliest stages and prevent them forming biofilms, which is a buildup of bacteria that could lead to infection.
Ted Bianco, Director of Technology Transfer at the Wellcome Trust, said: “Infections caused by microbial biofilms binding to the surface of implants often cannot be treated with conventional antibiotics. This makes them a significant challenge in patient care, particularly for those with inserted medical devices like catheters, heart valves, and prosthetic joints. The discovery of these new polymers is a great example of how advances in materials science are being exploited in our efforts to improve the performance of critical medical components."
The next stage of research will be to develop the manufacture of these coatings to enable their performance to be assessed clinically. The inventors are in early-stage discussions with a number of medical device companies.
