UVic Team Wins NSERC Idea to Innovation Grant to Fight Microbial Growth with Light

A UVic research team has landed an NSERC Idea to Innovation (I2I) grant for a project that uses sunlight to stop unwanted biological growth on surfaces, from bioreactor walls to underwater sensors.

The project, "Phase I: Photodynamic Surfaces for Antimicrobial and Contaminant Degradation Applications," is led by Heather Buckley in Civil Engineering, working with Jeremy Wulff and Fraser Hof in Chemistry. It builds on five years of collaboration with XLYNX Materials, a Victoria-based advanced materials startup.

The idea started with an adhesive molecule XLYNX had developed for bonding surfaces together. The team realized the same chemistry could be used to permanently attach dye molecules to a surface. When sunlight hits the dye, it generates a burst of reactive oxygen that kills microbes on contact, then switches off almost instantly once the light is gone. Because the dye stays chemically bonded to the surface rather than washing off into the environment, it stays effective without leaching into the water around it.

This phase of the work centers on bioreactors, in partnership with Industrial Plankton, a company started by UVic Engineering and Computer Science alum Robert Roulston, that builds systems for growing algae, seaweed, and plankton for uses like dryland aquaculture and producing high-value chemicals. Those bioreactors rely on sunlight and nutrient-rich water, conditions that are also ideal for unwanted growth to build up on walls and sensors, forcing frequent shutdowns and resets. Coating those surfaces could let the reactors run longer between cleanings, since buildup on the walls is often where unwanted organisms take hold and spread into the rest of the system.

Over the next year, the team will screen dye molecule candidates and test them in an Industrial Plankton bioreactor that provides a controlled setting while still reflecting real operating conditions. From there, they plan to trial the coatings in the more unpredictable environment of open water at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. The goal of the project is to create a first-generation product ready to move toward commercialization with Industrial Plankton and XLYNX.

The applications reach beyond bioreactors: water quality buoys, underwater cameras tracking whale migration, clinical surfaces, and other places where unwanted microbial growth is a persistent problem could all benefit from a light-activated, self-limiting coating like this one.

From a Victoria lab bench to the wharf at Bamfield, the project is a great example of UVic research finding its way into the real world.