Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Bacterial biofilms are communities of bacteria that attach to surfaces and are a major problem in healthcare and industry. They can cause infections on medical devices, contaminate food processing equipment, clog pipelines and reduce process efficiency. Current approaches often rely on antimicrobial chemicals, which may lose effectiveness over time and can contribute to antimicrobial resistance.
Recent research from our group has shown that bacteria respond to mechanical stimulation and that nanoscale vibrations can reduce bacterial attachment to surfaces. However, current methods require external equipment to generate these vibrations, limiting their practical use. This project will develop polymer materials that capture acoustic energy from ambient noise and convert it into localised nanoscale vibrations that discourage bacterial attachment. The aim is to create self-sustaining, non-chemical surfaces that continuously resist biofilm formation without external power or bulky equipment.
We will develop polymers that harvest sound across frequencies found in healthcare and industrial environments and determine how efficiently they convert this energy into surface vibrations. These materials will be combined with nanostructured surfaces that already reduce bacterial attachment, creating surfaces that combine static and dynamic anti-biofilm effects. We will test their ability to reduce adhesion and biofilm formation by clinically relevant bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and investigate how bacteria respond to the mechanical signals.
Finally, we will translate the most effective materials into prototype coatings and surfaces for applications such as urinary catheters and heat exchangers.
The project brings together polymer chemistry, materials science, microbiology and bioengineering to establish a new approach for preventing biofilms in healthcare, food processing and industrial systems.
This project will open new avenues i) to combat biofouling of medical implants/devices, including urinary catheters that are resistant to colonisation, therefore reducing infections in hospitals; ii) to create antimicrobial surfaces for food processing to prevent spoilage or contamination of food and industrial equipment that resists bacterial attachment, which would increase process efficiency.
Funding notes:
This is a PhD studentship with the Midlands Integrated Biosciences Training Partnership, funded by BBSRC and in partnership with the University of Warwick, University of Birmingham, Aston University, Harper Adams University, Coventry University, and the University of Leicester.
For more details please visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/mibtp/ or https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/about/college-of-life-and-environmental-sciences/midlands-integrative-biosciences-training-partnership
Application link: https://admissions.bham.ac.uk/applicant-home/applications/courses/coursedetails/?programmeid=b6dfb4b3-6c66-ed11-9561-0022481b5835
References
Nasim Mahmoodi, Dario G. Bazzoli, Tim W. Overton, Paula M. Mendes, “Plasma Activation and Its Nanoconfinement Effects Boost Surface Anti-Biofouling Performance”, Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2023, 10, 2202087.
Dario G. Bazzoli, Nasim Mahmoodi, Terri-Anne Verrill, Tim W. Overton, Paula M. Mendes, “Nano-vibrational stimulation of Escherichia coli mitigates surface adhesion by altering cells membrane potential”, ACS Nano, 2024, 18, 30786.