The creation of a new ‘biomaterial’ that stops bacteria sticking to medical devices such as catheters could help in the fight against superbugs.
Researchers at Nottingham University have developed a new family of biomaterials – materials such as plastics and metals which can be introduced into the body – called Bactigon, which they hope will have a major impact against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Drug-resistant infections kill around 700,000 people worldwide each year and a United Nations report published in April warned that this figure could increase to 10 million a year by 2050 – prompting the UN to call for urgent global action to avert an imminent crisis.
Morgan Alexander, professor of biomedical surfaces at Nottingham University who is leading the work into Bactigon, said it could be a vital addition to the current limited range of biomaterials, as well as helping in the fight against AMR.
The new material is being showcased in the Royal Society’s summer exhibition as an example of cutting edge science.
Prof Alexander said: “We’re still in the trial stages, but by focusing on new plastics that are better at resisting the attachment of bacterial colonies, we hope to see a reduction in the rates of healthcare-acquired infections.”
Biomaterials are used in a range of medical devices from catheters to artificial hip replacements to contact lenses. But if they do not remain sterile bacteria can stick to them and form biofilms, which act as a reservoir for infection.
The new class of ‘super’ polymers prevents infection by stopping biofilm formation at the earliest possible stage.
Prof Alexander and his team are currently trialling the new material as a coating for urinary catheters, which they hope will reduce the high rates of catheter-related urinary tract infections (UTIs) in hospital patients. Around half of UTIs in hospitals are associated with catheters, costing the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds every year.
Prof Alexander said it was too early to say what impact the new biomaterial was having.
“So far we’ve tested the catheter on hundreds of patients, but we’ll need to wait until we’ve tested on thousands to say for definite what the reduction rate would be,” he said.
He would also like to test the material in other devices.
“We’re looking at other ways to improve materials. Hip replacements can often cause a weakening of the bone or be rejected – which is no good if you’ve already cut someone open and then you need to do it again – so we’re trying to develop materials which will control this auto-immune response,” he said.
Dr Tim Knott from the Wellcome’s Innovations team, which part-funded the biomaterials project, said reducing infection rates was vital for hospitals around the world.
“This new material could be hugely important in helping prevent the spread of potentially deadly infection and in addressing an urgent global health problem,” said Dr Tim Knott.
“We are pleased to see promising early results from the first human trial of this novel ‘bacteria-phobic’ catheter.”
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