There are plastic devices – bladder catheters, implants for kidney dialysis, Hickman tubes, pacemakers – every implant you can think of is a magnet for bacteria. The idea of having a permanent chemical bond to the metal is a new approach. This can be used for every metal and plastic implant, with every antibiotic.

There are plastic devices - bladder catheters, implants for kidney dialysis, Hickman tubes, pacemakers - every implant you can think of is a magnet for bacteria. The idea of having a permanent chemical bond to the metal is a new approach. This can be used for every metal and plastic implant, with every antibiotic.

There are plastic devices – bladder catheters, implants for kidney dialysis, Hickman tubes, pacemakers – every implant you can think of is a magnet for bacteria. The idea of having a permanent chemical bond to the metal is a new approach. This can be used for every metal and plastic implant, with every antibiotic.

Our technique puts a bed of antibiotic nails on the surface of the implant. The first time a bacterium lands on those nails, it dies.

The biggest benefit of this work is to keep the infection from ever starting.

We're making some progress on sorting those (financial) issues out, too.