Image: Madeleine Ramstedt
Research project This project investigates bacterial colonization of surfaces in a medical context. These biofilms may play a role for example in nosocomial infections.
The project contains two research directions: 1) increasing the fundamental understanding of bacterial (co-)colonization and 2) investigating surface coatings that may prevent biofilm formation on medical devices.
We have been investigating how surface physicochemical properties of both material surfaces and the bacterial cell envelope influence bacterial colonization. As model surfaces, we have used thin polymer coatings in the form of polymer brushes. Currently we are investigating how bacterial multi-species interactions influence biofilm formation on medical devices.
In connection to this project, we have also been involved in a European network that, among other things, was reviewing the methodology for in vitro and in vivo biofilm testing.
Through the years, this work has been supported by: Curth Nilsson Foundation for Strategic Research, Carl Trygger Foundation for Scientific Research, the Swedish Research Council, Olle Engkvist Byggmästare Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT), a EU Framework Programme under Horizon 2020 in the form of a Trans Domain COST Action – (TD1305 iPROMEDAI), as well as the Kempe Foundations.
We have also had the opportunity to collaborate with many other researches on this topic, e.g. Anders Sjöstedt, Bernt Eric Uhlin, Sun Nyunt Wai at Umeå University, Julien Gautrot at Queen Mary University London, UK, Cristina Prat at Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Spain and Mette Burmølle at University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
