Understanding and disrupting bacterial biofilms to fight infections
Chemical and biochemical tools to study the functions of exopolysaccharides in bacterial biofilms
This work explores new ways to break down the protective layers around bacteria, which cause many hospital infections and are hard to treat with current antibiotics.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Maryland, College Park NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Park, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11103231 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Many serious hospital infections are caused by bacterial biofilms, which are communities of bacteria that stick together and form a protective shield, making them very difficult for our immune system and antibiotics to fight. We are working to understand how these biofilms form and how their protective layers, called exopolysaccharides, interact with each other. Our goal is to develop new chemical and biological tools that can specifically target and break down these protective layers. By doing so, we hope to make bacteria more vulnerable to treatment and improve outcomes for patients with persistent infections.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Future patients suffering from severe or recurrent bacterial infections, especially those caused by antibiotic-resistant biofilms, could potentially benefit from treatments developed through this research.
Not a fit: Patients with non-bacterial infections or those whose infections are easily treated with current antibiotics may not directly benefit from this specific approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new treatments that effectively disrupt bacterial biofilms, making existing antibiotics more powerful and reducing the burden of hard-to-treat infections.
How similar studies have performed: While the importance of biofilms is known, there is limited understanding of the specific molecular interactions within their protective layers, making this a novel and foundational approach.
Where this research is happening
College Park, United States
- Univ of Maryland, College Park — College Park, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Poulin, Myles B — Univ of Maryland, College Park
- Study coordinator: Poulin, Myles B
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.