Shark Skin Aids the Fights Against Hospital Superbugs

What does shark skin have to do with bacterial infections like MRSA and MSSA? Well, new research shows that when the scaly texture of shark skin is mimicked in hospital surfaces, it helps in the fight against such hospital superbugs.

The new pattern is called Sharklet^TM, designed in an arrangement of ridges formulated to resemble shark skin. This assembly of microscopic bumps can help prevent the transmission of common hospital bacteria through touching, sneezes or spillages, according to researchers.

The study, published in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, showed that Sharklet harbored 94 percent less MRSA bacteria than a smooth surface, and fared better than copper, a leading antimicrobial material.

MRSA is actually more common than you would think. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two in 100 people carry the infection, and it spreads more easily in hospital settings.

But researchers from BioMed Central have found that the key to curbing these harmful bacteria is as simple as mimicking a shark. Shark skin has the unique quality of inhibiting bacteria - like algae and barnacles - because it is covered with a natural micropattern of tooth-like structures, called denticles. By applying this feature to the Sharklet design, the material can effectively prevent bacteria from attaching to it.

"Sharklet does not introduce new materials or coatings - it simply alters the shape and texture of existing materials to create surface properties that are unfavorable for bacterial contamination," Dr. Ethan Mann, a research scientist at Sharklet Technologies, explained in a press release.

The researchers from Sharklet Technologies compared how well two types of infection-causing bacteria, methicillin-resistant or susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and MSSA), fared at contaminating three surfaces - the Sharklet micropattern, a commonly used copper alloy, and a smooth control surface. After simulating sneezing, touching and spillage on each of the surfaces, they found that the Sharklet micropattern reduced transmission of MSSA by 97 percent compared to the control. It also harbored 94 percent less MRSA bacteria than the control surface, while the copper had 80 percent less.

"We have learned much from nature in building this material texture for the future," Mann added.