Pre-commercial lines for production of surface nanostructured antimicrobial and anti-biofilm textiles, medical devices and water treatment membranes

Project Information

PROTECT

Grant agreement ID: 720851

DOI 10.3030/720851

Project closed

EC signature date 14 December 2016

Start date 1 January 2017

End date 30 June 2021

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Nanotechnologies

Total cost € 9 441 862,50

EU contribution € 7 478 985,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - PROTECT (Pre-commercial lines for production of surface nanostructured antimicrobial and anti-biofilm textiles, medical devices and water treatment membranes)

Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2021-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The main objective of PROTECT was to develop pre-commercial scale nano-enabling coating processes for antimicrobial and anti-biofilm products including, without being limited to, upholstery fabrics for public areas, medical textiles, indwelling medical devices, and water treatment membranes. To this end, PROTECT built a versatile platform of three manufacturing lines – R2R sonochemical, R2R spray and a batch sonochemical pilot - offering antimicrobial and anti-biofilm coating solutions specifically suited to each application area, manufacturer and end user.
PROTECT objectives vs outputs:
- Three pre-commercial nanocoating lines with optimised productivity and cost effectiveness. Output: Reduced water and energy consumption by 70%, increased coating capacity by 40%, lower by at least 30% sale price compared to existing products, e.g. antibacterial textiles.
- Products with increased antimicrobial and anti-biofilm efficiency coupled to biocompatibility. Output: Full bacteria kill, ≥90% bio-film inhibition, and ≥90% bio-compatibility.
- In-situ monitoring, control and automation of nano-enabled processes and products. Output: Reproducible and robust nano-enabling coating processes and final products complying with industrial standards for antimicrobial/anti-biofilm performance.
- Safety evaluation of the novel processes/products for workers and end users. Output: Analysis using decision support systems and novel statistical techniques for health safety and biocompatibility. Risk assessment and sustainability studies related to the novel NPs, processes and products.
- Manufacturing of the end products in relevant industrial environment. Output: Demonstration of continuous and batch coating processes for production of antimicrobial textiles, anti-biofilm medical devices and water treatment membranes.
- Definition of roadmaps to full-scale manufacturing and industrial integration of the coating lines, considering standards and regulatory issues. Output: Business plans including standardisation, regulatory issues, user acceptance, health, safety and environment aspects, and life cycle and cost analysis.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

- - The core activity of PROTECT is the manufacturing of the coating lines. Towards this objective, 3 pilot lines were designed, produced, and installed at three different end users - KLO, MAR and DEG on M24. The pre-commercial coating lines were designed with industrial capacity for treating fabrics, membranes and medical devices.
- Homogeneous antibacterial and antibiofilm waterborne nanoparticle coatings on hospital textiles, medical devices and water filtration membranes were achieved at process temperatures of up to 60ºC, and low reagent concentration, according to optimisation experiments.
- Customised antimicrobial nanoparticles for continuous and non-continuous coating processes were developed. The novel metal oxides, doped metal oxides, carbon dots, polymer, lipid and enzyme nanoparticles of PROTECT are efficient antimicrobial alternatives to the conventional antibiotics, with low probability for resistance development. Following a safe-by-design approach, antibacterial nanoparticles and coated materials with enhanced efficacy coupled to reduced toxicity toward human cells were developed. Nanoparticle probes, sensitive to bacterial metabolism, were embedded on medical textiles as indicators for the durability of the antimicrobial effect.
- A spectroscopy-based pushbroom imaging (PBI) technology for in-situ monitoring of the nanoparticle concentration, size, colloidal stability and coating quality was integrated in all pre-commercial lines. The PBI data were used to increase the robustness and repeatability of the coating processes, and the quality of the end products. The developed Human Machine Interface (HMI) allowed for in-situ monitoring and automation of the coating technologies.
- Potential environmental and health risks during the production of NP-coated antibacterial materials were identified and considered in the design of the pre-commercial pilot lines. The techniques for monitoring NPs in the environment, the biological models and toxicity assays, and the tests for potential occurrence of bacterial resistance to the newly developed antimicrobial products, were defined. Criteria for estimating different categories of risk related to hazard and exposure to NPs were adopted for each pilot, and actions to minimise the risk were proposed. Preliminary results suggested negligible inhalation exposure to NPs at the workplace during the sonochemical coating processes.
- The assessment methodology for the environmental sustainability and cost effectiveness was defined for all the processing techniques and for the targeted applications. The reference unit for environmental and economic sustainability as well as the scope of the life cycle assessment and life cycle costing were defined.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The following technological advances will ensure a high potential for market penetration of the nano-enabling processes and products developed in PROTECT:
- Versatile waterborne ultrasound-based nano-enabling coating technology adaptable for any active agent, coated material and product shape.
- A single step nano-functionalisation with novel efficient nano-antimicrobials
- Novel nano-antimicrobials with mechanism of action precluding the appearance of antimicrobial resistance
- Integrated real-time monitoring tools for nanotechnology-based processes and products.
- Ease of integration of the new technologies in existing manufacturing facilities and low manufacturing costs
The manufacturing of high quality, low cost nano-enabled products, responding to the needs of the global market for hospital textiles, medical devices and water treatment membranes, will strengthen the European competitiveness and promote the industrial growth. The prevention from bacterial contamination and transmission using PROTECT antimicrobial products will considerably reduce the negative infection-related economic and social impacts. Being close to industrialisation, PROTECT will have a strong impact on employment, requiring new professionals in nanomaterials, coating technologies, automation and monitoring, process/product safety analysis and marketing. PROTECT will bridge the gap between the technology validation and implementation.

PROTECT project layout