The emergence and spread of infectious microbes are actively putting the world in a status of unease. Infection spread through surface microbial contamination is a serious problem that affects many sectors. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of preventing any type of infection to spread through surfaces. Antimicrobial surfaces may pose an opportunity to alleviate this problem.

Microbes, such as the methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus can persist for as long as 24 hours on surfaces in hospitals. As MRSA, not unlike other superbugs, is constantly adapting and has now become resistant to methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin, oxacillin, among other common antibiotics. Most dangerously, the contamination of medical instruments and implants with such superbugs can lead to dangerous surgical site infections (SSIs) that are untreatable by antibiotics.

Dr. Oliver Pearce of Milton Keynes University hospital says that SSI is one of the main complications that occurs after surgery and is associated with a higher patient morbidity and longer duration of hospitalisation. SSIs continue to be a problem even with the use of disinfectants, as they have a limited residual effect.

Dragonflies, one of Nature’s most successful predators, are the main inspiration behind the next generation of antimicrobial surfaces. The surface of these beautiful insects’ wings consists of nanostructures that are capable of killing a range of bacteria, including S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and E. coli by their mere geometry. Thus, they earned the name “mechano-bactericidal” surfaces. 

Antimicrobial surfaces can contribute significantly to reduce SSIs by eliminating surface contamination thus surface spread of microbes. 

How can we, scientists and engineers, learn from dragonflies and transpose their natural design to engineering?

As a first step, we have to investigate the mechano-bactericidal surfaces’ nanostructured design to understand the mechanism and key features that enable their lethal effect on bacteria. 

Secondly, we have to use that information to develop a surface design that is functional but also attainable given the manufacturing limitations regarding materials, and the intricacies of nanostructure fabrication.

These and many others functional nature-inspired surface designs are being explored within our research group using high performance computer simulations to gain frontier understanding on this topic. Our research group, led by the Associate Director Dr. Saurav Goel, is currently aiming to use this knowledge of the bacteria-material interaction to develop next-generation of engineered protected surfaces.