{"id":2075,"date":"2026-03-28T12:38:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/pdnano\/?p=2075"},"modified":"2026-05-09T00:58:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T04:58:16","slug":"sfb-2026-in-atlanta-an-invited-30-minute-talk-on-antibiofilm-coatings-a-wound-healing-poster-and-an-oral-presentation-from-the-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/pdnano\/?p=2075","title":{"rendered":"SFB 2026 in Atlanta: An Invited 30-Minute Talk on Antibiofilm Coatings, a Wound-Healing Poster, and an Oral Presentation from the Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Society For Biomaterials (SFB) 2026 Annual Meeting & Exposition<\/strong> brought our lab to the Hyatt Regency Atlanta<\/strong> from March 25\u201328, 2026<\/strong>, and it was one of the most rewarding conferences for us this year. The lab had three contributions<\/strong> spanning our antibiofilm-coating, antimicrobial drug-delivery, and cancer-theranostic programs, and I was particularly honored to be selected as an invited speaker<\/strong> for an extended 30-minute slot in one of the meeting\u2019s antimicrobial biointerfaces sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quick recap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Invited 30-Minute Talk \u2014 Saturday, March 28<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The headline contribution from the lab this year was an invited 30-minute oral presentation<\/strong> I delivered on Saturday morning in the CS8 Concurrent Session<\/strong> of \u201cAntimicrobial and Antibiofilm Biointerfaces: Strategies to Prevent Device-Associated Infections 2\u201d<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAntibiotic-Free Polyethylenimine Synergized Biomimetic Antibacterial Nanoparticle Metal Implant Coatings Create Anti-Adhesive, Antibiofilm Surfaces\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, March 28, 2026 \u2014 11:00 to 11:30 AM \u2014 Slots 3\u20134<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was honored to be one of those invited to the podium. Being asked for the extended format means the session organizers wanted enough time to develop the underlying mechanistic story, not just headline results \u2014 exactly the kind of audience this work needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The talk presented the science underneath our BactiBlank<\/strong> translational effort \u2014 most recently pitched at the IDEA Center\u2019s inaugural Research Commercialization Grant event<\/a> at Notre Dame. The longer SFB format gave me the time to walk through how pairing biomimicking nanoparticles with biocompatible polycationic polymers (polyethylenimine in this case)<\/strong> yields anti-adhesive, antibiofilm surfaces<\/strong> on implant-grade metals \u2014 without<\/em> relying on antibiotic release. That distinction matters: antibiotic-eluting coatings contribute to the very antimicrobial-resistance problem the field is trying to solve. Our charge- and hydration-engineered approach interrupts bacterial attachment up front, before mature biofilms can form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Q&A and the conversations afterward were uniformly excellent, with several useful exchanges with groups working on orthopedic and trauma device surfaces. This is exactly the audience BactiBlank needs to be in front of as we move toward device-specific preclinical proof and licensing partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poster \u2014 Phage-Architecture Antibacterials, Thursday, March 26<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in the week, I presented poster PS2599<\/strong> in the Drug Delivery SIG<\/strong> session on Thursday evening (6:00\u20137:30 PM):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhage-Architecture Antibacterial Nanoparticles Clear Multidrug-Resistant ESKAPEE Pathogens, Resensitize MDR Pathogens to Legacy Antibiotics, Prevent Emergence of New MDR, and Accelerate Wound Healing\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a long title, but it\u2019s an honest description of what this platform does. Our phage-architecture antibacterial nanoparticles<\/strong> \u2014 developed in collaboration with the W.M. Keck Center for Transgene Research<\/strong> (Castellino, Ploplis, and Donahue) \u2014 go well beyond simple bactericidal activity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n