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Getting rid of sticky bacteria

Researchers at Plymouth University have developed the ultimate in non-stick materials. They are so slippery that even the most stubborn bacteria cannot cling to their surfaces.

In addition to cooking utensils everywhere, this is good news for medicine and healthcare where surgical devices coated with these compounds will remain sterile.

Dr John Tsibouklis, who leads the team, says: “Medical equipment such as catheters foul quite badly with bacteria. Once they have got a grip, the bacteria will ruthlessly colonise a surface and their survival is pretty much guaranteed. You can't take a cloth and wipe them off: people try mixing antibiotics with soaps, but once a colony is established, you have basically lost the battle."

Initially the team had set out to stop marine creatures from sticking to the hulls of ships. This meant finding ways to make surfaces unattractive to bacteria, which in order to cling to a surface, secrete a type of glue.

The research led to minimising the electrostatic interactions between molecules and the materials that did this were the silicone molecules in bathroom sealant and the acrylate molecules in acrylic paint. This combination prohibits the bacteria's glue from sticking to the surface.

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