Monday, 01 July 2019
A bacteria-resistant material that could help prevent hospital-acquired infections has been discovered by scientists at the 糖心原创 and is currently being used in clinical trials as a coating for urinary catheters.
Infections picked up in hospital cause 10,000 deaths per year in the UK with 1 in 10 patients getting an infection whilst receiving care. More than a third of such infections are catheter related.
But researchers at Nottingham University have identified a new group of structurally related polymers – recently named ‘Bactigon’, that dramatically reduce the attachment of pathogenic bacteria (including Pseudomonas, Proteus, Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli).
These ‘SuperBiomaterials’ and their fight against SuperBugs will form part of an exhibit at , which opens today (Monday 1stJuly).
The research was led by Morgan Alexander, Professor of Biomedical Surfaces and Paul Williams, Professor of Molecular Microbiology and supported by Derek Irvine, Professor of Materials Chemistry. Together with commercial partners,, they have developed the coating for use on catheters.
This has gone all the way from the discovery of a new class of materials that no one could have predicted all the way to clinical trials and that鈥檚 a massive achievement. This is only the second medical product to ever come out of this type of high throughput materials discovery. We鈥檙e excited to be bringing this research to the Summer Science exhibition with a range of hands-on activities that show how bacteria are transmitted and how materials can fight them off.鈥�
Many commonly used devices including urinary and central venous catheters are susceptible to biofilms that are essentially bacterial ‘slime cities’. This protects bacteria from the body’s natural defences and antibiotics. But super biomaterials prevent infection by stopping biofilm formation at the earliest possible stage — when the bacteria attempt to stick irreversibly to a medical device.
Interactive fun and games
The SuperBiomaterials exhibit will be full of colourful interactive activities to show how this non-sticky material works. ‘Stick or Slide’ will demonstrate how the presence of biofilms can make it more difficult to remove bacteria through regular means such as washing or antibiotics with a race to clear two tubes full of beads using air pumps– one tubewith “biofilm obstructions” and one without.
The ‘Stop Superbugs sticking’ activity will feature real catheters with different strength magnets inserted inside. These will be dropped into a bowl of ball bearings (representing bacteria) to show how different materials end up with different amounts of bacteria attached.
The Great Greeting Experiment
The activity will also show how easily the bacteria that cause infections can be transferred via the hands with the ‘Great Greeting Experiment’. This is a live research project aiming to find out which common greetings transfer the most bacteria. A university volunteer will have a set amount of iridescent powder on their hands and perform common greetings - handshake, high five etc, with a participant with clean hands. The participant will then place their hands into a UV light box to see how the powder has transferred.
The amount of powder transferred will be captured from photos of participants’ hands using bespoke software.
After the greetings, participants will then observe how touching an object spreads the powder around their hand increasing the likelihood of transference, and will be shown how to wash their hands properly. They will then be able to put their hands back under the UV light to see how effective their technique was.
鈥淭o fully understand the problem of bacterial infections, it鈥檚 important to understand how bacteria reach us in the first place. Many infections get onto medical devices like urinary catheters via bacteria on the skin being left on the device after hand contact. Showing people how easily bacteria are transferred, and how ineffective we often are at getting them off, will show the start of the bacterium鈥檚 journey: before it meets the SuperBiomaterials.鈥�
A colourful comic strip has been produced for children to take away showing how SuperBiomaterials work in the fight against bacteria and infection.
Watch this video to see how superbiomaterials stop superbugs.
Story credits
For more information please contact Professor Morgan Alexander at the 糖心原创 on 0115 9515 119, morgan.alexander@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.