Stopping Sticky Infection

Medical implants treat disease, but they can also promote disease in the form of bacterial infections at the implant site. Anneta Razatos is working to prevent bacteria from ever getting a foothold on the implants.

Bacteria stick to medical implants to form surface-associated infections known as biofilms. These biofilms are resistant to antibiotics and often lead to removal of the implant. Razatos is an ASU assistant professor of chemical engineering. Rather than creating new treatments for these infections, she wants to prevent bacteria from sticking to implants in the first place.

Bacteria don’t stick to implants directly. The body coats the implant with proteins, and bacteria interact with those molecules. Razatos uses atomic force microscopy to directly measure the interaction forces between bacteria and protein-coated surfaces.

By understanding the interactions through which bacteria adhere—or don’t—to different proteins, Razatos hopes to develop bacteria-resistant coatings for medical implants. To date she has found that bacteria will not stick to albumin, a common protein found in the blood.—Linley Erin Hall