Microbiological tests of materials platform

Research Highlights

Highlight 1: Tailored bioactive glass compositions reduce bacterial adhesion

Bioactive glass compositions with reduced silicon dioxide (SiO₂) content demonstrated pronounced anti-adhesive and antibacterial properties against multiple clinically relevant bacterial species. In addition, these materials showed synergistic effects when combined with conventional antibiotics, highlighting their potential as functional additives for orthopedic bone cements aimed at preventing implant-associated infections.

In contrast, glass compositions containing metallic additives exhibited lower overall efficacy and more species-specific antimicrobial activity. Among the tested components, calcium oxide (CaO) displayed a modest but reproducible inhibitory effect against Staphylococcus aureus. These findings suggest that combining a reduced SiO₂ content with optimized CaO concentrations may further enhance the anti-infective performance of bioactive glass materials.

Overall, the results support the development of tailored glass compositions as multifunctional biomaterials that not only improve implant integration but also contribute to reducing the risk of orthopedic implant-associated infections.

Highlight 2: Visualising microbial and cellular responses across biomaterial interfaces

Project E combines microbiological assays with complementary fluorescence microscopy techniques to visualise how different biomaterials influence bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation, and host-cell responses. Rather than focusing on a single model system, the project applies tailored imaging strategies to a wide range of materials and biological questions, enabling direct comparison across the RTG.

Examples include the imaging of osteoblast interactions with HSA nanofiber-coated surfaces, live/dead analysis of bacterial colonisation on titanium discs, the visualisation of osteoblast responses to bioactive glass treatment, and fluorescence imaging of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation on bioactive glass cylinders. Together, these experiments illustrate how Project E links microbiology and advanced optical microscopy to generate biologically meaningful and visually intuitive readouts for diverse biomaterial systems.