Project description
Surface nanocoatings to prevent transfer of pathogens
The EU-funded STOP project will develop antimicrobial and antiviral nanocoatings for application to high-touch surfaces. The nanocoatings will be developed using combinations of inorganic nanoparticles, antimicrobial peptides, and nanoscale laser surface modifications. The formulations will be evaluated for efficacy using existing international standards and novel testing methods. The components for the formulations have to allow flexible, sprayable and long-lasting coatings, with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial and antiviral activity and reduced risk for development of resistance. The project nanocoatings will significantly reduce infections transmitted via high-touch surfaces, healthcare costs, and environmental pollution by current disinfectants and increase general preparedness for future pandemics.
Objective
The STOP project will develop antimicrobial and antiviral nanocoatings that can be flexibly or permanently applied to high-touch surfaces. These nanocoatings will be derived from a combination of inorganic nanoparticles, antimicrobial peptides and nanoscale laser surface patterning. The nanocoatings will be thoroughly characterised for their efficacy, using both existing international standards and improved testing methods developed within the project (the new testing methods will be proposed to standards agencies for adoption). Several different active substances will be explored (i) to allow formulation in highly flexible, sprayable, and long-lasting coatings, (ii) provide broad spectrum antimicrobial antiviral activity, and iii) reduce the chances of the development of resistance. To this end, the mode-of-action, and the risk of selection for antimicrobial resistance in bacteria and viruses will be assessed.
The flexible nanocoatings will provide a long-lasting (30 days) reduction in bioburden that resembles standards set for microbial colonization of surfaces in hospitals, which can only be reached after intense surface disinfection or permanent introduction of known antimicrobial material such as copper. This effect will be studied in a real-life intervention trail and with epidemiological models. The developed nanocoatings are expected to lead to significant reductions in infectious diseases transmitted from high-touch surfaces, healthcare cost savings, reduction in environmental pollution by disinfectants, and increased preparedness of the EU public health system to future pandemics. The safety of the nanomaterials will be backed up by human and environmental toxicity studies and life cycle analyses. From the beginning, attention will be paid to end-user acceptance, manufacturing scalability, and short-term exploitation by SMEs
Fields of science
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseases
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiologypandemics
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantivirals
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
12205 Berlin
Germany