Infection Control & Hygiene

Biofilms-related research at the School of Physics and Astronomy

Funding has been secured through an NBIC Proof of Concept call for a partnership with two SMEs to develop a biofilm model for testing active ingredients for hand hygiene. It is hoped that use of the model will lead to the development of new hand hygiene products to improve health around the world.

There is a need for simple, affordable and effective procedures for screening hand disinfectant products. Dr Susana Direito the lead and Principal Investigator of the project will work with colleagues from the School of Physic and Astronomy’s Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems (Aidan Brown, Job Thijssen, Andreia Fonseca da Silva and Paul Hush), and industrial partners Bear Valley Ventures (Walter Gibson) and Aqualution Systems Limited (Nick Meakin and Michelle Lewis), to develop a human skin biofilm model that can be used for high-throughput testing of novel skin disinfection formulations. It is hoped that use of the model will lead to the development of new hand hygiene products to improve health around the world.

Find out more about Susana Direito 

News item "Developing a model to test hand hygiene ingredients"

Find out more about the Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems