The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 07, 2025
Filed:
Nov. 25, 2019
The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Hyun Koo, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Kathleen Stebe, Penn Valley, PA (US);
Vijay Kumar, Wilmington, DE (US);
Elizabeth Hunter, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Edward Steager, Media, PA (US);
Evan Brink, Philadelphia, PA (US);
THE TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods for eradicating biofilms by killing bacteria within a biofilm, degrading the matrix and removing biofilm debris are disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter provides techniques for administering a suspension of HOand iron oxide nanoparticles to substantially eradicate bacteria within a biofilm matrix and degrade the bio film matrix, actuating the iron oxide nanoparticles for assembly into biohybrid robots suitable for removal of biofilm debris, and moving the biohybrid robots to remove the bio film debris from accessible or enclosed surfaces. In some embodiments, the disclosed subject matter can include embedding iron oxide nanoparticles in a hydrogel to form a soft robotic structure, administering the soft robotic structure to a biofilm-covered location, and magnetizing the soft robot structure to substantially eradicate bacteria within a biofilm matrix, degrade the biofilm matrix, and remove biofilm debris from enclosed surfaces.