The Debal-Fluo project is looking to develop fluorescent surfaces sensitive
to the presence of bacteria. These surfaces are made from a set of polymer chains containing an organic fluorophore as well as cationic and anionic groups. These water soluble polymer chains are alternately laid on a glass surface by
a technique in which they are applied layer by layer. (Layer by Layer or LbL).  This technique has the advantage of being very simple to apply. It produces controlled areas of thickness, according to the number of layers applied. The Debal-Fluo project aims to increase the sensitivity of these surfaces by using polymers, the fluorescence of which vary from green to red and by using the FRET modulation between fluorophores after either interaction with bacteria,
or through the introduction of metallic nanoparticles in the films in order to
use the « metal enhanced fluorescence » (MEF) phenomenon, to increase
the shine. Secondly, the films are transformed into biocaptors by grafting onto their surface specific receptors from a bacterial strain such as antibodies, through click chemistry. The project relies on the PPSMs expertise in the synthesis and preparation of films, as well as upon the LBPA's study into bacteria. It uses results obtained during the work done by Dr Yang Si (2015) for her thesis, co-directed by the two laboratories which have successfully shown that the polymer chains used in Debal-Fluo are biocompatible and easily penetrate the bacteria.

The two research teams have worked together for a number of years on the different subjects linked to bioimaging and/or detecting bacteria through fluorescence. The initial work carried out in collaboration with Bianci Sclavi, concerned the application of fluorescent organic nanoparticles to bioimaging and the early detection of bacteria growth. Another project (in collaboration with CentraleSupelec's LGPM), which had benefitted from the support of the IDA, concerned the study of the dispersion of biofilms. The Debal-Fluo project concentrates on the development and the application of new chemical objects, fluorescent polymer chains, developed at the PPSM in order to study bacteria. The support of the IDA allows different approaches to be tested in order to gain a better understanding of their behaviour and fields of application. The work goes from synthesising to creating biocaptors, taking in the studies of biocompatibility, physico-chemical properties of chains in solution and of the characteristics of surfaces on the way. Different IDA platforms have contributed to the project's realization: characteristics of the materials, clean room and microfluidic.