About the project

Project summary

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections are a significant healthcare challenge. Prolonged catheterisation can allow bacteria to colonise catheter surfaces and form biofilms, while antimicrobial resistance can make infections more difficult to treat. Although several approaches have been developed to improve the antimicrobial properties of urinary catheters, there is a continuing need for coating strategies that limit bacterial colonisation while remaining compatible with host tissues.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates because they can act rapidly against a broad range of microorganisms and can use diverse mechanisms of action. Their use in catheter coatings, however, requires careful evaluation of antimicrobial potency, cytotoxicity, stability and methods for attaching peptides to surfaces.

UROPEP will identify and design novel AMPs, with particular attention to peptides derived from helminths, using bioinformatic analyses of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic datasets supported by molecular modelling. Selected peptides will be evaluated for antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity, structural properties and mechanisms of action against reference strains and clinically relevant bacterial uropathogens, alongside assessments of their effects on human cells. The project will also develop and optimise physical and chemical approaches for immobilising peptides on catheter surfaces and evaluate how modified surfaces affect bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation.

By integrating omics data, experimental microbiology, biophysical characterisation, molecular modelling and surface engineering, UROPEP will generate knowledge and assess promising approaches for the development of antimicrobial peptide-coated urinary catheters.

Research

The project brings together peptide discovery, experimental testing and catheter-surface engineering. Its main research activities are:

1. Identify and design antimicrobial peptides

Search genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic datasets for candidate peptides, particularly those derived from helminths, and use molecular modelling to support their selection and design.

2. Characterise selected peptides

Assess antimicrobial activity against reference strains and clinically relevant bacterial uropathogens; examine cytotoxicity in relevant human cells; and investigate peptide structure and mechanisms of action using microbiological and biophysical approaches.

3. Develop peptide-functionalised catheter surfaces

Develop and optimise physical and chemical strategies for immobilising selected peptides on catheter materials. Use molecular modelling to inform coating approaches and electron microscopy to examine modified surfaces.

4. Evaluate bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation

Determine how peptide-functionalised catheter surfaces affect bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, and compare their performance with unmodified surfaces.