Graphene sheets to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections

Purpose and goal

The background to this project is that a number of, partly contradictory, reports on the antibacterial effect of graphene was published. At first, the interaction between bacteria and different forms of graphene was investigated; this gave understanding to why graphene is antibacterial only in certain forms. The commercially most interesting leads were then selected for continued investigation and development. With a more cost effective manufacturing process the antibacterial graphene has good prospects of being commercialized for selected medical device applications.

Expected results and effects

The project has resulted in mutual knowledge exchange between scientists from Chalmers and Wellspect, which has been essential to achieve the results. The project has resulted in better understanding of the properties underlying the antibacterial effect of graphene. This knowledge has generated a patent application and two scientific articles, which are presently under review for publication. Development of a new and cost effective manufacturing method is required in order to commercialize the results, which is work in progress as a new project.

Planned approach and implementation

An experienced graphene chemist was recruited to lead the laborative work in the project. Together with a microbiologist and physicists (from Chalmers Graphene Centre) a strong team was formed to handle the practical work to develop and evaluate different graphene variants. The collaboration between the scientists at Chalmers and Wellspect has been essential to identify areas were the possibilities best overlapped with the medical device needs, so that further development could be focused on the commercially most interesting applications.