Personalised antimicrobial and pro-regenerating coatings

Multiple layers of nanoscale polyarginine and hyaluronic acid

In order to prevent bacterial colonisation on medical devices, whose surfaces serve as a substrate for the proliferation of bacteria, SPARTHA Medical is developing personalised antimicrobial coating consisting of polyelectrolytes (electrically charged molecules).

The use of PAR/HA has been the subject of a first proof of concept and the technology has been patented. Thus, we are deploying our R&D efforts to develop coatings with other types of biopolymers in order to optimise the product according to use and demand. 

The coating has an on-contact antimicrobial effect against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, which exhibits good biocompatibility. 

In a few words, SPARTHA’s personalised antimicrobial technology functions as follows: 

Personalised antimicrobial medicine and medical devices (Modular coatings and immunoprofiling)

Implants

The large number of implants done per year is leading to an increase in the number of implant-related complications, notably nosocomial diseases. Personalised medicine can play a key role in addressing this problem.  Cochlear, orthopedic and dental implants are some examples of implantable medical devices. One of the possible complications is infection around medical devices, especially in hospital settings where a significant proportion of infections called "nosocomial infections" are closely related to implanted devices. 

Immunoprofiling

Immunoprofiling is performed by analysing the patient's blood, or by in vitro evaluation of the behaviour of immune cells isolated from the patient.  Such immunoprofile-based pre-implant and post-implant diagnostics can improve the functional results of different implants by helping in the selection of the implant type and can also significantly reduce complications.  The coupling of immunoprofiling with immunomodulatory surface modifications provides an arsenal to solve problems in a patient-specific manner.  

Antibiotic substitutes: Polyanionic hydrogels 

Antibiotic resistance has become one of the leading causes of death in the world. New strategies to overcome these problems are needed. SPARTHA Medical’s innovation is unmatched because it is not based on an antibiotic. It is derived from natural polymers, which makes it biocompatible and applicable to all types of surfaces. The antibacterial effect is achieved by contact with the surfaces coated with these polymers. As a result, the coating is applied to medical devices without affecting their primary function, acting as a physical antimicrobial barrier.

This innovative system provides a long-lasting antibacterial effect on a recurrent infection model in vitro, thus demonstrating a strong potential to combat several series of antibiotic-resistant infections. In addition, HA-PAR hydrogels could be deposited on/in medical devices such as dressings and hernia wicks used in clinical applications.

Personalised antimicrobial use

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