About the project
Urological devices (stents and catheters) are deployed as temporary measures to restore urinary drainage in patients with kidney stones, tumours or strictures. In this PhD project, we aim to develop novel coatings to resist encrustation and biofilm formation on stents, and extend our test platform to include in vitro biological testing of microbial cell-device interactions for rapid pre-clinical testing of coating efficacy.
Device-associated encrustation-and-biofilm-formation (E&B) are key complications, leading to urinary tract infections (UTIs) in >90% of stents, causing stent blockage, reliance on antibiotics and contributing to antibiotic resistance.
In 2016, NIHR reported that >92m people globally are diagnosed with UTIs every year, compromising quality of life and imposing a £2.5b annual burden on the NHS. Over the past decades, researchers have tried to introduce materials (e.g. metallic alloys, polymers, biodegradables), coatings (e.g. heparin, chitosan, hydrogel, carbon) and shapes (e.g. double-J, loop, mesh, string, expandable) to improve stents and catheters. Despite advances, there is still a prevalence of E&B and UTIs.
Our team has developed a high-throughput microfluidic screening platform to evaluate new urinary stent architectures and surface modifications/coatings by replicating dynamic fluid flow conditions within a stented urinary tract.
In separate work, we have shown that multilayer coatings with varying mechanical compliance and hydrophilic swelling can be produced, and that these can resist biofilm formation by the common uropathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
In this PhD project, we aim to
- develop novel coatings to resist encrustation and biofilm formation on stents, and
- extend our test platform to include in vitro biological testing of microbial cell-device interactions for rapid pre-clinical testing of coating efficacy.
New coating materials in the form of multilayer composites will be manufactured by depositing nanoscale layers onto the surface of ureteral stent models. The sequential deposition of different single-layers with different chemical compositions can enable multilayer coatings with multiple antimicrobial mechanisms (e.g. bactericidal, anti-adhesive, erodible).
These activities will enable pre-clinical evaluation of new coatings and other urological device innovations for prevention and treatment of device E&B and infection, thus accelerating commercial and clinical translation of new solutions to these problems.
We are looking for applicants who are motivated by this exciting area of research, and the possibility to contribute to scientific and technological developments.
Applicants should have a strong academic record, ideally with some relevant research or project experience, a background in engineering (e.g. microfluidics and microfabrication), materials, chemistry, and/or microbiology, and an interest in multidisciplinary skills development.
