Project description
Studying biofilm dynamics through controlled bacteria printing on micro-shaped surfaces
Bacterial biofilms are surface-attached communities of microorganisms encased in protective extracellular matrices. On medical devices or implants, they can cause persistent infection and are resilient to antibiotic treatment. On industrial equipment, they can disrupt pipelines and cause spoilage in food-processing plants. Understanding biofilm dynamics is challenging because populations often contain multiple bacterial species that grow on irregular surfaces. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the DesiBio project aims to study the impact of surface shape and the spatial distribution of subpopulations on biofilm development. It will leverage microfabrication techniques, microfluidics and droplet printing to develop a modelling system that monitors bacterial interactions during biofilm growth, while controlling initial community composition and micro-surface irregularities.
Objective
Bacterial biofilms–conglomerates of bacteria held together by an extracellular matrix–play a major role in our lives including disrupting medical implants, industrial pipelines, or providing antibiotic tolerance to bacteria deep within biofilms by e.g. limiting antibiotic diffusion. It is imperative we understand biofilm population dynamics to improve both our health and industrial processes. However, biofilms are difficult to study because 1) they often contain multiple bacterial species or multiple genetic variants of a single species that form biofilm subpopulations, where the interactions of subpopulations are controlled by their spatial distribution within the biofilm and 2) they are often found growing on irregular surfaces with nooks and crevices, in contrast to most biofilm models on flat agar surfaces. To understand the biofilm dynamics, and thus to control it, it is crucial to analyze the impact of the surface shape and the spatial distribution of biofilm subpopulations on the biofilm formation and growth. However, we lack tractable methods to do so for several days necessary for a typical biofilm to stabilize. Here we propose a synergistic effort based on years of research by myself (surface irregularity, microfluidics expert) and the Imperial College Host (bacteria printing expert), where we aim to use microfabrication techniques, microfluidics, and droplet printing to develop a system to follow bacterial interactions in a growing biofilm where we control: a) the initial patterning of the community, b) surface irregularities on which the community grows, c) cell-surface interactions. We will work with Prof. Sujit Datta at Caltech (secondment) to follow mutant spread in biofilms in porous beds, and we will work with a Paris-based company Hummink to potentially the results of DesiBio for potential commercialization (non-academic placement).
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences classical mechanics fluid mechanics microfluidics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology implants
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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SW7 2AZ London
United Kingdom
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