Magenta - Bacteriophage transport mechanisms optimized for the development of antibacterial coatings

The Magenta project aims to design a novel surface coating to prevent long term biofilm formation. The adhesion processes of micro-organisms, especially bacteria, play a major role in the construction of biofilms and the colonization of biological or abiotic surfaces. These biofilms can form on any type of surface, and represent significant financial losses in fields such as the water industry, the merchant navy, and the food industry.

The originality of this project is twofold: firstly in the choice of antibacterial coating, and secondly in the use of bacterial infection processes by phages, the latter entering into the composition/functionality of the coating. The project involves the development of materials based on biodegradable polymers and functionalized with biological particles that are not harmful to the environment.