The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded a $300,000 Project Grant (CFDA 93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research) to Ionic Pharmaceuticals, LLC to develop a topical hydrogel-based wound dressing to treat second-degree burn wound infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The wound dressing is formulated with a natural quorum sensing inhibitor, w-hydroxyemodin, to disrupt MRSA virulence and augment the host immune response...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) provides $305,000 to Novaurum Biosciences Incorporated, a small business in Somerville, MA, to develop a novel mammalian cell-based nano-biological coating for implantable medical devices. The project aims to address the critical issue of implant-related infections, which cost the U.S. healthcare system over $8.6 billion annually, by creating a...
This $100,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program will support the development of an advanced wound care technology at Florida International University. Specifically, the university will create a bandage-integrated platform that provides feedback-mediated wound therapy to enable personalized care. The conformable platform is designed to non-invasively monitor multiple wound biomarkers in spatial detail and then apply targeted...
This $840,462.15 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) will support research to understand the mechanisms of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm formation on medically relevant surfaces. The goals are to: 1) establish the structural and biophysical rules governing S. epidermidis protein binding to polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) surfaces, 2) develop a novel PMMA surface...
This $250,000 National Science Foundation project grant supports the development of a microneedle-mediated adaptive phototherapy wound dressing by the University of South Florida from October 1, 2022 to November 30, 2024. The dressing integrates self-diagnosis and treatment tailored to wound conditions without external electronics or medical professionals. Microstructured microneedles act as optical waveguides to deliver localized blue or red light therapy at wound sites, changing wavelength...
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant award of $305,000 will fund the development of an advanced wound care product to treat diabetic foot ulcers. The product is a microneedle bandage that delivers three therapeutic agents to disinfect the wound, prevent biofilm formation, and activate the immune system to speed healing. Initial work will be performed using skin tissue cultures and testing on diabetic pigs. The project aims to...
This Project Grant award, valued at $275,000 and provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084), aims to develop and validate an aerogel-based wound dressing material platform with integrated fluid management, biofilm prevention, and rapid infection detection capabilities. The proposed innovation from Auxilium Health, Inc. seeks to create a novel wound dressing solution that can improve the management of acute...
This $100,000 National Science Foundation Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships grant funds the development of tunable porosity aerogel for wound care dressings at The University of Akron from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. The project aims to create a novel bio-based aerogel dressing that could help heal patients with chronic wounds faster by requiring fewer dressing changes. Aerogels' high porosity, surface area and moisture balance properties may create an incubator-like wound healing...
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded a Project Grant totaling $392,634 under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 13, 2025. The funding supports the development of a novel broad-spectrum nanoimmunotherapeutic approach for combating multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections, particularly those caused by the ESKAPE pathogens. The project aims to design, fabricate, and optimize a...
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) awarded a $172,700 Project Grant (CFDA 93.846 - Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research) to the University of California, Irvine. The project aims to develop a novel therapeutic approach for improving angiogenesis and wound healing by delivering apoptotic neutrophils within a degradable hydrogel scaffold. The research will investigate the effects of the hydrogel-neutrophil delivery on macrophage...
NANOSPRAY TREATMENT OF BIOFILM INFECTIONS IN WOUNDS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT MICROBIAL BIOFILM INFECTIONS ARE A LEADING COMPLICATION IN HEALING OF WOUNDS ARISING IN A MULTITUDE OF SETTINGS, INCLUDING SEVERE BURNS, NON-HEALING PRESSURE ULCERS, DOG BITES, SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS, AND GUNSHOT WOUNDS. INFECTION IMPAIRS THE WOUND HEALING PROCESS AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTANTIAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. A RECENT META-ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT THE PREVALENCE OF BIOFILMS IN CHRONIC NON-HEALING WOUNDS IS 78% [1]. BIOFILM FORMATION IMPARTS RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS THROUGH INNATE RESISTANCE FACTORS INCLUDING THE DRUG DIFFUSION BARRIER OF THE BIOFILM'S EXTRACELLULAR POLYMERIC SUBSTANCES (EPS) AND THROUGH INDUCED CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION, CELL SIGNALING AND METABOLISM. SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED BETWEEN BIOFILM FORMATION AND MULTI-DRUG RESISTANCE (MDR) IN DIVERSE CLINICAL ISOLATES FROM WOUNDS [2]. AN ADDITIONAL COMPLICATION IS THAT BIOFILM FORMATION AND PROGRESSION ARE NOT VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE; AS A RESULT, BIOFILM INFECTIONS ARE NOT DISCERNED UNTIL THEY ARE WELL ESTABLISHED AND RECALCITRANT TO TREATMENT. A KEY BARRIER TO IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF BIOFILM INFECTIONS IS PENETRATION OF THEIR EPS IN ORDER FOR AN IMAGING CONTRAST AGENT OR THERAPEUTIC TO REACH THE INFECTING BACTERIA. PENETRATION OF BIOFILMS BY SURFACTANTS, PRIMARILY THROUGH DETERGENCY AND SURFACE ENERGY MODIFICATIONS THAT INHIBIT BACTERIAL ADHESION, MAY OFFER A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. STRONG SURFACTANTS SUCH AS TWEEN 20 AND TRITON X-100 HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO DISPERSE BIOFILMS BUT ARE TOO CYTOTOXIC FOR SYSTEMIC CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. POLYMERIC SURFACTANTS SUCH AS POLY(ACRYLIC ACID) POLYELECTROLYTE, CARBOPOL 934TM, AND POLY(ALKYLENE OXIDE), POLOXAMER 407TM, INHIBIT BIOFILM FORMATION BUT ARE NON-SPECIFIC AND ARE NOT STRONGLY ANTIMICROBIAL [3]. WE HAVE RECENTLY DEVELOPED NOVEL GRAFT POLYELECTROLYTE SURFACTANTS (PS) THAT COMBINE THE FUNCTIONALITIES OF THESE PREVIOUSLY USED MATERIALS WITH THE ABILITY TO ENCAPSULATE INTO NANOPARTICLES AND DELIVER CATIONIC ANTIMICROBIALS (CAMS), WITH THE RESULT BEING ENHANCED ACTIVITY AGAINST BIOFILMS IN VITRO. WE PROPOSE THAT SUCH PS CAN BE EMPLOYED IN THE WOUND INFECTION ENVIRONMENT, BOTH FOR IMAGING AND FOR TREATMENT, BY FORMULATION INTO A "NANOSPRAY" THAT IS ABLE TO ACHIEVE BROAD COVERAGE WITHIN THE WOUND BED, AVOID RAPID CLEARANCE OF DYES OR OF ACTIVE CAMS IN THE HIGHLY ACTIVE REGENERATING WOUND ENVIRONMENT, AND PENETRATE BIOFILM BARRIERS VIA THE POLYELECTROLYTE SURFACTANT DETERGENCY. IN ORDER TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE WILL: (1) EXPAND THE REPERTOIRE OF CAMS THAT CAN ACHIEVE FAVORABLE NANOFORMULATION WITH THE PS; (2) EVALUATE THE ABILITY OF NANOSPRAY PS-CAM FORMULATIONS TO TREAT BIOFILMS IN VITRO AND IN VIVO; AND (3) DEVELOP AND EVALUATE THE ABILITY OF PS-CAM-ICG (WHERE ICG = INDOCYANINE GREEN) FORMULATIONS TO IMAGE BIOFILM FORMATION.