Polymer Conjugates and Hydrogels
Opportunity
This opportunity is led by Prof. Stephen (Steve) Rimmer and is underpinned by two patent families which are focussed on the identification of pathogens in eye infections.
The Problem
The recent lancet commission (Fleming et al Lancet (2021), 398, 1997) highlighted the need for easy-to-use diagnostics with 47% of the global population having little or no access to diagnostics.
Infections of the eye are issues in the developing world and lack of access to healthcare leads to inappropriate use of antibiotics. Delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of infections can lead to serious problems in treatment that in critical cases leads to loss of eyesight.
Infectious keratitis accounts for 1.5 to 2 million monocular loss of sight per year and corneal opacity affects 6 million globally, especially in developing areas (Ting et al Eye (2021) 35 1084).
Receiving a diagnosis and treatment, especially in remote, healthcare deprived areas could take over a week which may result in the infection becoming worse. Therefore, a quicker and more inexpensive solution is required.
Application
The invention is a capture system that uses highly branched polymers, functionalised to bind to specific microorganisms (specifically gram-negative, gram positive bacteria and fungi) which is grafted onto a hydrogel, possibly in the form of contact lenses or a swab. Itis designed to capture bacteria which can then be tested to show exactly which bacteria is present. The process is relatively quick as it can show instant results via a colour system.
For example, if the bacteria gram-negative is present, the hydrogel could turn purple. This allows the clinician to prescribe a specific antibiotic as opposed to a generic antibiotic. Generic antibiotics can induce antibiotic resistance hence this method could help to decrease this risk.
Benefits
There are three key advantages: rapid ease of use; point of care diagnosis and high selectivity. Other advantages include the possibility of sending the samples for further laboratory-based analysis and long shelf life without refrigeration.
This system can further be optimised by using another set of polymers containing dyes to further identify the gram typing of bacteria or to identify fungi. By using mobiles phones to image the device, laboratory facilities are not required.
Once the images have been obtained, they can be analysed to provide the diagnosis (within less than 1 hour). The sample can then be taken to a laboratory facility for further analysis of the micro-organisms (e.g., by sequencing). This latter feature will allow for national and international monitoring and will be useful a tool in AMR surveillance. This invention also allows specific antibiotics to be prescribed instead of generic antibiotics thus decreasing the risk of antibiotic resistance.