PepCap - Encapsulated antimicrobial peptide with prologed release

Research Project, 2019 – 2020

Purpose and goal: The aim of the project is to meet large societal challenges with antibiotic resistance as a consequence of overuse of antimicrobial substances. The objective is to gather knowledge and cooperate to develop antibacterial fiber materials for novel wound care- and hygiene products. The idea is based on newlydeveloped effective antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are biodegradable and thus have a lower risk of developing resistance. Controlled and extended release of AMPs by incorporating them into microcapsules and in the fiber material will also be evaluated. Expected results and effects: The project is about developing new antimicrobial materials with other mechanisms than conventional antibiotics where the risk of developing resistance is minimized, thus contributing to maintained effectiveness of existing antibiotics and keeping the number of infections of resistant bacteria low. The ambition is that our innovation will have good terapeutic effect, contribute to a reduced number of wound dressings changes and shorter treatment times, which would result in lower hospital costs, higher quality of life and strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish industry.

Approach and implementation: The work will initially consist of reviewing the state-of-the-art and make in-depth analysis of needs as well as discussions on technical issues. The state-of-the-art will include both a summary of existing commercial products and an overview of current research in the area. Additional stakeholders from the value chain of wound care products (suppliers, end-users, specifiers) will be invited to workshops to expand the idea and the consortium. We also intend to develop a first proof-of-concept to show the potential of the idea.