Postcard: Dr Sabeel Valappil and Dr Chris Hope in India

Dr Chris Hope (left) and Dr Sabeel Valappil (third from left) are Lecturers in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Health Services Research and School of Dentistry, within the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society

“As part of an ongoing UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) funded project, we travelled to Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Trivandrum, India.

“During the visit, Dr Hope gave a plenary lecture on ‘Bacterial fluorescence as a research tool for oral microbiology’. A number of laboratory visits and meetings took place between the groups during this visit.

“The aim of the project is to develop the antibacterial properties of gallium and silver for biomedical applications in a biocompatible manner and to this end, novel nano-composites of gallium and silver quantum dots were successfully produced.

”Gallium has recently emerged as a new generation antibacterial ion that may be useful in dealing with antibiotic resistant bacteria, as it has a different mode of antibacterial action by affecting the bacteria at multiple sites.  This makes resistance to this antibacterial agent a remote probability.

“Earlier in the year the Indian researchers Dr Chandra Sharma, Willi Paul, Dr A Jayalekshmi and Dr K Kaladhar also visited the University of Liverpool which facilitated laboratory visits, meetings and sample exchanges.

“These visits are helping to exploit the expertise of Dr Valappil’s group, as UK pioneers in developing gallium for antibacterial applications, along with Dr Sharma’s group, who work on understanding the blood/tissue interface and material interactions to develop modified surfaces for various biomedical applications, including drug delivery systems. Preliminary results from this work are already being prepared for publication.

“The project has already provided an excellent platform for UK-India Education and Research collaboration. The UKIERI projects contribute to the promotion of close working partnership between the University of Liverpool and a number of Indian institutions on research projects focused on tackling some of the world’s biggest health and social challenges.

“The University has recently announced a new Fellowship programme to boost engagement with India with the ultimate aim of growing a Liverpool – India Research Network.”