Electrospun Photodynamic Nanofiber Platforms for Treating Drug-Resistant Infections

About the Project

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising light-based treatment for drug-resistant infections. This project will develop electrospun polymer nanofibers that deliver photosensitisers with improved precision and antimicrobial performance. The student will design and test advanced nanofiber systems, gaining skills in biomaterials, photochemistry, and microbiology while contributing to new non-antibiotic therapies for hard-to-treat infections.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging, minimally invasive treatment that uses light-activated photosensitisers and oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species capable of destroying cancer cells and inactivating pathogens. Although PDT has strong clinical potential, its effectiveness is often limited by the poor localisation, rapid clearance, and off-target toxicity of photosensitisers delivered systemically.

Advanced drug delivery systems offer a promising solution. Electrospun polymeric nanofibers are particularly attractive because they provide high surface area, strong drug-loading capacity, and controlled release directly at the disease site. Electrospinning is highly versatile and scalable, allowing fibres to be tailored in structure and function for next-generation therapeutic applications.

While PDT is widely used in oncology, its ability to kill bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites makes it a valuable tool for tackling infectious diseases. This is especially important in the context of rising antimicrobial resistance, which is reducing the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics. Because PDT kills pathogens through a physical mechanism that does not rely on traditional drug targets, resistance is far less likely to develop.

This PhD project will develop electrospun polymer nanofiber platforms that deliver photosensitisers with enhanced precision and stability for treating drug-resistant infections. The student will work across biomaterials engineering, photochemistry, and microbiology to design, synthesise, and characterise functional nanofiber systems optimised for photodynamic antimicrobial therapy.

The project will provide hands-on training in polymer synthesis, electrospinning, nanofiber fabrication, and advanced materials characterisation techniques such as spectroscopy, thermal analysis, microscopy, and mechanical testing. Photodynamic antimicrobial activity will be assessed using in vitro assays with clinically relevant pathogens, including biofilm-forming strains. As the project progresses, the materials may be evaluated in more advanced biological models to explore their therapeutic potential.

This studentship offers an exciting opportunity to develop innovative, non-antibiotic antimicrobial technologies with strong translational potential. The skills gained will span biomaterials science, nanotechnology, photochemistry, microbiology, and infection biology, preparing the student for future roles in academia, biotechnology, or the medical device industry.