b'UNIVERSITY/PROJECT TITLE PROJECT SUMMARY RESEARCHCOLLABORATOR/SINSTITUTIONIn situ underwaterThere is a growing market in the Marine andUniversity ofChelsea optical sensors Freshwater sector for in situ sensors to monitorLiverpool Technologies water environments. A significant bottleneck is rapidGroup Ltdinstrument failure due to biofouling of sensor windows. This project will: (i) create smart antibiofouling windows; (ii) modify and upgrade current sensors for underwater biofilms identification.Branched functionalBiofilms in wounds and on medical devices are a majorUniversity of5D Health polymers forproblem that prevent the treatment of infection. TheyBradford Protection Group disrupting bacterialare produced by infecting organisms and protect itLtdbiofilms from treatment with antimicrobials and antibiotics. In this project awe are using nanotechnology to disrupt these films to expose the organisms to treatment.HullSense We will design, build and test a working prototypePlymouthValeport Ltdbiofilm sensor that will sense microfouling, in realMarine time on ships hulls. This direct measurement ofLaboratorybiofilm will allow in-water hull cleaning to be correctly scheduled to: extend longevity of coatings, reduce fuel consumption and reduce green-house gas emissions.Development of newWe have recently demonstrated the potential toUniversity ofPublic Health antibiofilm agentsrepurpose existing drugs already used in humanBath England and through repurposingmedicine as antibiofilm agents. This project will provideKings College of existing licenseda comprehensive screen of available drugs to identifyLondondrugs the best candidates for repurposing as antibiofilm agents, with an initial focus on catheter associated urinary tract infection.Detection of biofilmsWound infection results in poorer outcomes for patientsUniversityUniversitythat give rise to woundand higher costs for the NHS. We aim to detect theof the WestHospitalsinfection; developmentgases produced by microorganisms that cause woundof EnglandBristol NHS of a prototype point- infection using nanomaterial based sensors. This Proof(UWE), Bristol Foundation Trust of-care device basedof Concept device could potentially lead to futureandon rapid detection andproduction of a novel point-of-care diagnostic tool. Altered Carbonanalysis of microbial volatilesBacterial networking;Bacteria in wastewater treatment works canUniversity ofVeolia UKwhy its not alwaysform complex network-like structures that can beEdinburghbeneficial to builddetrimental to the treatment process. In this Proof bridges and makeof Concept project, we will perform experiments and connections computer simulations to understand the mechanisms by which these structures form. The insight gained will help us inhibit their occurrence. Developing passivePathogenic yeasts can grow as biofilms on materialsUniversitySmiths Medical RFID technology toused to make medical implants, this represents aofKent International Ltdmonitor Candidasignificant infection risk to vulnerable patients. We will albicans biofilmdevelop methods to detect biofilm growth on medical growth on medicaldevices within patients and in real-time using radio-devices frequency identification (RFID) technology, this will help improve diagnosis and treatment.Label-free multimodalBiofilms are groups of bacteria that are very difficultUniversity ofM Squared Life imaging platform forto detect. Were combining powerful chemical andSouthampton Ltd and University detection of biofilms molecular technologies in a volumetric imaging platformHospital to analyse biofilms quickly through their uniqueSouthamptoncharacteristics. This will help in diagnosis, treatment avoiding anti-microbial resistance and remove or promote biofilms in health and industrial applications.52'