PepCap - Encapsulated antimicrobial peptide with prologed release

Important results from the project

The aim of the project, which is to meet the societal challenges linked to antibiotic resistance, is still of great concern. Our goal has been to gather knowledge and collaborate on the development of new antimicrobial materials for wound care- and hygiene products. These areas of use have been further broadened following discussions with external participants and we have now identified that our innovation can also be useful in other industries, as well as to reduce emissions of toxic and resistance-inducing substances in general.

Expected long term effects

The project concerns the development of antimicrobial materials, relying on different modes of action than that of existing antibiotics, where risks for resistance development are minimized. The ambition is to provide an innovation with a good therapeutic effect that contributes to a reduced number of wound dressing replacements and thus shorter treatment times, which would lead to both lower healthcare costs and reduced suffering. However, as the innovation will first be properly tested in step 2/3, it is too early to evaluate such effects.

Approach and implementation

The project group has reviewed the state-of-the-art, performed in-depth requirement analysis and has had discussions on various technical issues. The external monitoring has consisted of both a summary of existing commercial products and an overview of current research. Several actors from different industries and different parts of the value chain have participated in workshops with the aim of expanding the idea and the consortium. Experimental work has also been started to show the potential and broaden the portfolio of possible bio-based microcapsule systems.