LC-NanoCoat | Design, characterization, and evaluation of biofilm eradicating hybrid liquid crystalline nano-coatings for new 3D porous orthopedic implants

Summary
Orthopedic implant-associated biofilm infections represent a major public health and socioeconomic burden due the intrinsic tolerance of biofilms that behave as protective and immobile scaffolds to conventional antibiotics and immune system. Further, their long-term and repeated antibiotic treatments lead to an increased potential of antibiotic resistance development. Here, this interdisciplinary proposed project integrates innovative aspects of surface chemistry, 3D morphological characterization of coated implants, and precision engineering with attributes for production of much needed biofilm-targeting nanostructural implant coatings. It also considers the urgent societal needs for introducing an effective, flexible, and universal approach in orthopedic implant patterning and functionalization for combatting and preventing implant-associated biofilms. This core approach is based on controlled patterning with inverse non-lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline phases having unique nanostructural versatility through prior precision priming of new 3D porous implant surfaces with tailor-made coating method, and their thorough characterization by using different modalities including GISAXS, neutron reflection, high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray micro-computed tomography. This is in combination with in vitro profiling on model implant-associated biofilm infections. The project provides an environment with independent research activities for building my professional skills in a research topic at the interface of nanoscience, surface chemistry, and experimental medicine. In addition to training at different synchrotron facilities, my research career will be certainly advanced owing to the gained experience with state-of-art biophysical tools and supervision of Master students.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101107704
Start date: 07-08-2023
End date: 06-08-2025
Total budget - Public funding: - 214 934,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Orthopedic implant-associated biofilm infections represent a major public health and socioeconomic burden due the intrinsic tolerance of biofilms that behave as protective and immobile scaffolds to conventional antibiotics and immune system. Further, their long-term and repeated antibiotic treatments lead to an increased potential of antibiotic resistance development. Here, this interdisciplinary proposed project integrates innovative aspects of surface chemistry, 3D morphological characterization of coated implants, and precision engineering with attributes for production of much needed biofilm-targeting nanostructural implant coatings. It also considers the urgent societal needs for introducing an effective, flexible, and universal approach in orthopedic implant patterning and functionalization for combatting and preventing implant-associated biofilms. This core approach is based on controlled patterning with inverse non-lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline phases having unique nanostructural versatility through prior precision priming of new 3D porous implant surfaces with tailor-made coating method, and their thorough characterization by using different modalities including GISAXS, neutron reflection, high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray micro-computed tomography. This is in combination with in vitro profiling on model implant-associated biofilm infections. The project provides an environment with independent research activities for building my professional skills in a research topic at the interface of nanoscience, surface chemistry, and experimental medicine. In addition to training at different synchrotron facilities, my research career will be certainly advanced owing to the gained experience with state-of-art biophysical tools and supervision of Master students.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01

Update Date

31-07-2023
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Horizon Europe
HORIZON.1 Excellent Science
HORIZON.1.2 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
HORIZON.1.2.0 Cross-cutting call topics
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022