Project description
Plant-inspired wax with antiseptic properties could inhibit microbial biofilm formation
Biofilms have become a serious public health problem ever since they were first discovered nearly 350 years ago on the surface of teeth. These colonies of microbes, which attach to surfaces and generate an extracellular matrix that protects them, can develop on hospital surfaces and in food products, in the latter case leading to food spoilage and human illness. The EU-funded Antiseptic-Wax project is turning to the waxes covering plant leaves that have both superhydrophobic and anti-microbial properties for a nature-based solution. A synthetic version has already been approved for use in food products. The team plans to extend its use by developing novel spray and dip-coating approaches to impede biofilm production.
Objective
Microbial food spoilage leads to food-borne illnesses and food wastage. It is estimated that food borne disease cause 23 million illnesses and 5,000 deaths only in the European region and around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually. Contamination of food by biofilms can occur at any stage of the food production process or consumption. In this PoC we propose to address this problem taking inspiration from nature. We have shown that we can emulate various plant leaf surfaces by synthetic paraffin waxes which exhibit superhydrophobic and pronounced passive anti-microbial properties. These waxes are FDA approved for the use in food products. We plan to develop easy to apply waxed surfaces via spray and dip coating techniques, which can be easily implemented into the food industry at various stages of production. We believe this will allow to significantly reduce food spoilage and waste.
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.
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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.
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.
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-PoC
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
32000 Haifa
Israel
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.