Kilbride has been recognised for her investigations into the potential use of bacteriophage coatings for the prevention of microbial colonisation on medical devices. She investigated several different methods for the immobilisation of phage K with a view to developing a coating that would be effective against Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 10788.
She studied the retention of the bacteriophage when dried onto the surface of untreated and silanised glass. She then incorporated the bacteriophage into a hydrogel coating and investigated whether the coating was effective at preventing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria on its surface.
Kilbride concluded that it is possible to create a bacteriophage coating that can prevent microbial colonisation at sufficiently high concentrations of bacteriophage. She also concluded that the development of a suitable bacteriophage coating could potentially reduce and prevent the growth of bacteria in vivo.
“We are delighted to recognise this excellent research project,” said Alison Smith, pharmaceutical microbiology manager at Oxoid. Pharmaceutical microbiologists worldwide are involved in the development and testing of new antimicrobials to fight hospital-acquired infections associated with indwelling medical devices