Sterlitech partners with NeuronArch researchers to improve lifetime of surgical implants

September 04, 2018

Sterlitech is pleased to partner with the Pasteur Paris research team, who is using our gold-coated polycarbonate and aluminum oxide membrane filters in their exciting research for this year’s International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. Team Pasteur’s project, called NeuronArch, seeks to improve outcomes of surgical prothesis implants.

After surgery, microbes like S. aureus can colonize implants and form surface biofilms – these rare but severe infections are hard to treat with antibiotics, and often require removal of the implant to cure completely (1). One avenue of preventing this problem is to combat biofilm accumulation. However, the NeuronArch project aims to subvert the biofilm instead of fighting it. Their goal is to coat the implant with a genetically modified lab-grown E. coli, to serve as an interface between the synthetic prosthesis and organic tissues. This controlled biofilm would work to promote neural connections while preventing colonization by other invasive pathogenic bacteria -ultimately reducing the risk of infectious biofilm formation. They are evaluating gold-coated polycarbonate and alumina oxide membranes as potential materials for achieving this goal.

The iGEM Competition is a program of the iGem Foundation in Boston; a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education and competition, and the development of an open community and collaboration. This annual synthetic biology program awards research teams who address current problems in society with a biological approach. Undergraduate and graduate students around the World participate with their own independent or collaborative projects then meet at the end of the year in Boston at the Giant Jamboree to share and compete for the best project. The Pasteur Paris iGEM team is a multidisciplinary team composed of students from multiple Parisian campuses. This year, their area of focus is on the health risk posed by biofilm accumulation on prosthetics and implantable devices.

We look forward to seeing how the project progresses and wish the Pasteur team the best of luck at iGem’s final presentation in October. At Sterlitech, our goal is to continue providing researchers with the materials they need to push the boundaries of science.

References:
^{[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3718238/}