Project description
Encouraging the triumph of good over evil
Whenever an implant or medical device is inserted in our body, a race for the surface takes place between ‘good‘ eukaryotic cells of our tissues and ‘evil‘ bacteria. In this competitive scenario, the winner takes it all. If bacteria reach first the surface, the success of the implant will be compromised. A possible solution to this problem would be the use of antibiotics. While have revolutionised medicine and our ability to combat bacteria, antibiotics and more generally antibacterial or cytotoxic substances can also inhibit the functioning of healthy cells. The big question is: how can we enhance the adhesion and integration of ‘good‘ healthy cells while simultaneously preventing the formation of ‘evil‘ bacterial biofilms? The EU-funded Bio-TUNE project is addressing these two antagonistic goals with thorough characterisation of eukaryotic and bacterial competition. Insight will aid in development of selective coatings for implants that encourage healthy tissue growth while impeding bacterial colonisation.
Objective
Bio-TUNE aims to develop innovative multifunctional materials to produce a new generation of medical implants with cell instructive and antibacterial potential.
In biomaterials science, it is well accepted that implant biointegration with surrounding tissues is a major goal. However, implant surfaces that facilitate cell adhesion, may also favor colonization of bacterial cells. Infection of biomaterials and subsequent biofilm formation can be catastrophic and significantly reduce patient quality of life, representing an emerging concern in healthcare.
On the other hand, research efforts devoted to inhibit bacterial colonization are frequently related to cytotoxic agents or treatments that do not positively affect host tissues. Hence, ideally, to enhance the long-term success of medical implants, biomaterial surfaces should reduce bacterial colonization levels without compromising the physiological functions of eukaryotic cells. Yet, the majority of current approaches tend to only focus on either improving cell adhesion or preventing bacterial infection but rarely explore a combined effect.
In Bio-TUNE we focus on multifunctional coatings to simultaneously address and mitigate both these problems. Thus, Bio-TUNE introduces a new mindset and different paradigms in the development of biomaterials to respond to unmet clinical needs.
Bio-TUNE ambitions to 1) Study and understand the interaction of eukaryotic cells with bacteria at the biophysical and biomolecular level; 2) To develop cell instructive and antibacterial surfaces via biochemical and topographical approaches; 3) Transfer this technology to medical implants.
We seek to decipher the mechanistic of eukaryotic and bacterial cell competition, generate new selective and multi-potential coatings and topographically-active patterns, and their technological transfer leading to a generation of advanced biomimetic materials for tissue regeneration and personalized medicine.
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Coordinator
08034 Barcelona
Spain