A University of Iowa engineering researcher has secured a patent for a medical device coating that could transform how dangerous medical implant infections are treated, potentially saving thousands of patients from invasive surgeries.

Infections on medical implants, such as orthopedic implants, neurological devices, catheters, and dental implants, affect up to 4% or 100,000 patients each year. Currently, these infections require surgical removal of the entire device and surrounding tissue, which can lead to complications and prolonged recovery.

Eric Nuxoll, associate professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, has invented a non-invasive alternative to surgical interventions that uses a magnetic nanoparticle coating to heat the infection, reducing tissue damage and patient trauma.

"My hope is that a medical device company will be interested in incorporating this into their device,” said Nuxoll, who joined the College of Engineering in 2008. "This could create a new standard for that class of device."

The patent protects the intellectual property and encourages medical device companies to invest in further development, which will be needed to make the technology readily accessible for patients, Nuxoll said.

What makes Nuxoll’s approach different is the magnetic nanoparticle coating applied to the device before implantation. When exposed to a targeted magnetic field, these particles generate heat – between 50 and 80 degrees Celsius (122-176 degrees Fahrenheit) – that can kill bacterial biofilms in as little as one minute.

"We knew we could kill the bacteria with heat, so if we could find a way to make the coating hot that would solve the problem," Nuxoll said.

Nuxoll's work, which began in 2009, represents a significant advancement in medical technology. Nuxoll and his graduate and undergraduate student researchers, in collaboration with medical researchers, have helped refine the technique, with preliminary trials showing promising results.

Nuxoll hopes to transition the research into industrial-sponsored work, with commercial availability possible within the next few years.

"That's why we do this,” Nuxoll said. “That's the ultimate point, to get our research out into the public so it can help people.”