Synergetic Polymer / antibiotic systems for the treatment of biofilm infections

Pathogens can survive environmental threats, including antibiotic treatment, by forming a protective structure known as a biofilm. This protection means that infections caused by biofilm-forming pathogens are difficult to treat. Globally, biofilm infections are associated with high rates of hospitalisation, mortality, and cost. An alternative to antibiotics is required to improve treatment of biofilm infections. One potential alternative is synthetic antimicrobial peptide polymers. These antimicrobial peptide polymers mimic the antimicrobial peptides that are naturally found in all living creatures. The natural peptides are not suitable for widespread use; however, the synthetic mimics can be designed to improve on the limitations to create a potential treatment that could be used in hospitals.
Previous work has highlighted that the combined use of these antimicrobial polymers alongside current antimicrobial treatments could treat biofilm infections caused by different pathogens where antibiotics alone fail. This interaction is promising but more needs to be known about the mechanisms behind this interaction. This interdisciplinary project will combine chemistry and microbiology to improve our understanding of polymer-antimicrobial interactions. The chemistry side of this project will include the synthesis and analytical study of interactions between a range of polymers and antimicrobials to see how they behave together. The polymers will be used to treat models of biofilm infection in the respiratory tract and in wounds. Changes in the biofilm bacteria will be monitored using imaging techniques and bioinformatic analysis to identify what effects the polymers alone, antimicrobials alone and polymers+antimicrobials have on the bacteria. The results of this work will allow us to design the optimal polymer-antimicrobial combinations that can be taken forward for clinical testing.