A living "smart skin" that helps a life-saving tube defend itselfMedical devices · preclinical
We're designing a water-based coating that puts microbes to work protecting dialysis catheters — early lab results are promising, and we're honest about the road ahead.
For many people whose kidneys can no longer keep up, Peritoneal dialysisA gentle, often at-home way to clean the blood when kidneys fail, using the natural lining of the belly as a filter. is a lifeline. It works through a soft tube — a CatheterThe soft tube that stays inside the body to carry dialysis fluid in and out. — that stays inside the belly for years, doing the cleaning the kidneys can't. People rely on that tube every single day, sometimes for a decade or more.
But the same tube that helps can also be a way in. Bacteria can build a slimy film on its surface and trigger PeritonitisAn infection of the lining of the abdomen — the main danger for people who rely on this kind of dialysis., an infection of the lining of the abdomen. It's a constant worry. And when the usual antibiotics can't clear it, many people have to give up this gentler, often at-home treatment and move onto harsher, hospital-based dialysis.
We're working on a way to make that tube protect itself. Our Living Hydrogel Coating is a thin, water-based gel — think of it as a living "smart skin" for the CatheterThe soft tube that stays inside the body to carry dialysis fluid in and out.. Tucked inside it are probiotic microbes. As they go about their lives, they continuously make natural acids that bacteria and their biofilms struggle to survive in. Instead of a single dose that fades within days, it's a coating that keeps working. The design borrows an idea from nature — the tiny separate pockets in healthy soil where microbes thrive — and recreates it in gel form.
We want to be clear about where this stands: it is still research. Everything so far has happened in the lab, in dishes and it is not an approved treatment. Our next steps are deliberate. First, a six-month study to confirm the coating is safe and that none of the microbes ever leak out. Then an animal study with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed). That animal work waits on an independent ethics review, which we have submitted and is now under way. We'll move forward one honest step at a time.
Instead of a tube that bacteria colonize, a tube that quietly protects itself.
- The protective matrix (PEGDA)A firm, water-loving mesh forms the outer structure of the gel. It's built to wall the microbes in so they stay put rather than escaping into the body — while its tiny gaps let the helpful acids they make pass freely out to the catheter surface. Confirming that zero microbes leak out is exactly what our upcoming safety study is designed to check.
- The droplet pockets (DEX)Scattered through that mesh are soft droplets of dextran, a sugar-based gel. These act as cozy little homes where the probiotics gather and settle, packed together with the food they need to keep living and working over the long haul.
- Two zones, one jobKept safely inside but fed and free to work, the microbes turn everyday nutrients around them into a steady stream of natural, bacteria-fighting acids — a tiny living factory that renews its own supply instead of running out.
2. Dormancy
3. Triggered eradication