Engineering Nitric Oxide Delivery Platforms for the Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Infections

About the Project

This project develops nitric-oxide-releasing polymer platforms to tackle drug-resistant infections. The student will design electrospun and 3D-printed materials that deliver controlled NO doses directly to infection sites and test their antimicrobial performance against clinically relevant pathogens. The work combines biomaterials engineering, polymer chemistry, and microbiology to create next-generation non-antibiotic therapies.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) causes more than 1.2 million deaths each year and places severe pressure on healthcare systems. Without new treatments, AMR could lead to 10 million deaths annually and a global economic burden of 100 trillion dollars by 2050. These figures highlight the urgent need for alternatives to conventional antibiotics, which are increasingly ineffective as bacteria rapidly evolve resistance.

This challenge is intensified by the prevalence of biofilms, which occur in over 80 percent of bacterial infections. Biofilms are structured microbial communities surrounded by a protective matrix that shields bacteria from the immune system and severely limits antibiotic penetration. Within these environments, bacteria adopt altered metabolic states and show dramatically increased tolerance to antimicrobials. Biofilm-associated bacteria can require up to 1,000 times higher antibiotic doses for inhibition, rendering many standard therapies ineffective. Together, multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and persistent biofilms create a major barrier to current antimicrobial strategies and highlight the need for innovative therapies with new mechanisms of action.

Nitric oxide (NO) offers a promising solution. It has broad-spectrum antibacterial and antibiofilm activity and acts through mechanisms fundamentally different from traditional antibiotics, making it a strong candidate for treating MDR infections. Our laboratory has already developed several NO-releasing biomaterial platforms, providing a strong foundation for the next stage of development.

This PhD project will advance the therapeutic use of NO by creating polymer-based delivery platforms engineered to release controlled levels of NO directly at sites of infection. Working at the interface of polymer chemistry, biomaterials engineering, and microbiology, the student will design and fabricate electrospun and 3D-printed NO-releasing scaffolds optimised for antimicrobial performance.

The project will provide hands-on experience in synthesising NO-donor functional polymers and processing them into nanofibrous and architected 3D structures. A broad suite of characterisation methods, including spectroscopy, rheology, thermal analysis, and mechanical testing, will be used to study material properties and release behaviour. Antibacterial and antibiofilm activity will be assessed using in vitro assays with clinically relevant Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens. As the project progresses, more advanced biological models may be used to explore therapeutic potential under physiologically relevant conditions.

This studentship offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment and the opportunity to contribute to innovative, non-antibiotic antimicrobial technologies with real translational potential. The skills gained will span materials science, nanotechnology, drug delivery, and infection biology, providing an excellent foundation for future careers in academia or industry.

Candidates wishing to apply should complete the University of Liverpool application form to apply for a PhD in Materials Engineering

Please review our guide on How to apply for a PhD | Postgraduate research | University of Liverpool carefully and complete the online postgraduate research application form to apply for this PhD project.

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