The PhD work of Adoracion Pegalajar Jurado (“Dori”) at Swinburne University of Technology focuses on the interaction of nanostructure polymers with bacteria and proteins.
With the support of the AMCRC, her study is a ground-breaking examination of solutions to problems with bacteria that costs industries billions of dollars every year. Many industries have problems with biofilm formation where bacteria attaches itself to a surface and proliferate. The bacteria form a biofilm for “self-protection”. With the food industry, for example, it produces higher environmental and financial costs for cleaning equipment. Biofilm of just a few hundred microns on a boat surface results in 20% higher fuel costs. With dental implants, it increases the chances of infection.
Dori’s study seeks to control the level of bacteria attachment, or even get it to a level where there is no attachment at all, creating a solution for a key problem. To do this, her research focuses on manipulating two properties: surface nanotopography and surface chemistry through the combination of colloidal lithography and plasma polymerisation. With this process, nanospheres (measuring 220 nanometres) are arranged on a surface forming a hexagonal close packed structure that modifies the surface topography.
A thin plasma polymer is then placed over it to unify the surface chemistry. Changing the surface properties will affect the level of bacteria attachment. “You can control surface nanotopography and chemistry and study whether that will reduce the number of bacteria being attached,’’ Dori says. “Other studies show that surface topography and surface chemistry will affect bacterial behaviour. The challenge is to modify the two independently and isolate the role of surface nanotopography and chemistry on bacterial attachment. ” By doing this, she would be able to provide guidelines on what are the properties demonstrate more effective for reducing bacteria attachment, how to modify them, saving industries billions of dollars.
