Researchers at McMaster University have created a powerful new weapon against bacterial contamination and infection. They have developed a way to coax bacteriophages — harmless viruses that eat bacteria — into linking together and forming microscopic beads. Those beads can safely be applied to food and other materials to rid them of harmful pathogens such as E. coli

In recent years, DidarLab collaborated with the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TaARI) to create a novel and highly promising platform to improve the success of vascular grafts. This revolutionary idea was an engineered non-stick surface combined with biological components that can repel all but a targeted group of cells — those that form the

The new wrap, designed to protect against contamination on high-touch surfaces such as door handles and railings, is now moving toward scaled-up production through FendX Technologies, Inc., which last year licensed the technology. The product works using a self-cleaning surface design microscopically “tuned” to shed everything that comes into contact with it, down to the

If you have kept some food for a little while, you may not know whether or not is has gone off. Eating it could risk you getting ill, or throwing it away just adds to the food waste mountain. Researchers have come up with a potential solution. These are smart bio-markers on food packaging which

DidarLab has developed a test to reveal bacterial contamination in dairy products well before they have a chance to reach anyone’s lips. With support provided by Toyota Tsusho Canada, Inc., young researchers have proven a method that will allow producers, packagers and retailers to detect bacterial contamination in milk products simply by reading a signal

Congratulations to our PhD student, Shadman Khan, who is one of this year’s Vanier scholarship recipients! Shadman is a student in the School of Biomedical Engineering developing biomedical materials and biosensors. He is currently working on smart food packaging capable of indicating bacterial contamination and food spoilage in real-time, to overcome our current reliance on

Principal Investigator, Tohid Didar is one of the ten new researchers across three faculties have been named new Canada Research Chairs, a prestigious honour created to promote Canada’s world class research and development. Tier 2 Chairs, which are held for five years and renewable once, are for exceptional emerging researchers who have the potential to

Our group worked in collaboration with industry researchers from SQI Diagnostics Inc. to develop and successfully test a new material to help detect critical but elusive markers of illness. We have created an innovative surface coating that repels every other element of human blood except the critical cytokine. The coating improves the ability of diagnostics

We have achieved a remarkable milestone in the field of pathogen repelling surface development. Our team that created RepelWrap has been named grand prize winners in the 2020 Create the Future design contest, organized by engineering-design news provider Tech Briefs, the company announced today from New York. To prevent pathogens and other agents from adhering

Toyota Tsusho Canada, Inc. (TTCI) will team up with McMaster engineers and biochemists to move a promising new food-safety technology from the lab to the marketplace. TTCI will contribute up to US$300,000 over two years to commercialize a bacteria-detecting patch that can signal when food has been spoiled by E. coli or other common food

We have developed a self-cleaning surface that can repel all forms of bacteria, preventing the transfer of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and other dangerous bacteria in settings ranging from hospitals to kitchens. Inspired by the water-repellent lotus leaf, the new surface works through a combination of nano-scale surface engineering and chemistry. The surface is textured with microscopic

The new invention utilizes a new coating to prevent clotting and infection in synthetic vascular grafts, while also accelerating the body’s own process for integrating the grafted vessels. Synthetic materials currently used in vascular grafts can be problematic because their surface properties and texture can collect cells and initiate blood clotting, a risk which requires

The new technology, described in the research journal ACS Nano, has the potential to replace the traditional “best before” date on food and drinks alike with a definitive indication that it’s time to chuck that roast or pour out that milk. If a pathogen is present in the food or drink inside the package, the

Six teams of researchers from across McMaster’s Faculties have been awarded $20,000 each from the Interdisciplinary Research Fund (IRF). Project Title: Development of a point-of-care microfluidic chip for rapid diagnosis of Von Willebrand disease. The fund, now in its second year, supports research projects involving two or more Faculties and is intended to build and