Tuning the antimicrobial behaviour of Cu85Zr15 thin films in wet and dry conditions through structural modifications

SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY

卷:350

Article

Villapun, Victor M.¹  Lukose, C. C.¹  Birkett, M.¹  Dover, L. G.²  Gonzalez, S.¹ 

[1] Northumbria Univ, Fac Engn & Environm, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, Tyne & Wear, England

[2] Northumbria Univ, Fac Hlth & Life Sci, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, Tyne & Wear, England

关键词: Antimicrobial properties;    Thornton's model;    Thin film;    Magnetron sputtering;    Processing conditions;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.surfcoat.2018.06.094

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The antimicrobial behaviour of Cu85Zr15 at.% thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering was studied in both wet and dry conditions. Small variations in key deposition processing parameters (pressure and substrate temperature) enabled the growth of thin films with similar nanostructures but different degrees of compactness, according to the Thomton's structural zone model. This model has proven its effectiveness in providing sensitive structural information to explain significant differences in antimicrobial behaviour of the CuZr thin films, even when processing conditions lie within the same structural zone. The antimicrobial behaviour has been studied for E. coli and S. aureus for up to 4 h of dry contact. Structures of lower compactness, grown at higher deposition pressure, are shown to provide higher antimicrobial activity for dry conditions than for wet conditions. For thin films of CuZr deposited at 0.5 Pa, the reduction percentage of bacteria is 99.47%, which is much higher than the results of 70-80% obtained for the films deposited at 0.1 and 0.3 Pa. Microscopy studies indicate that for 4 h of contact time, bacteria exhibit inner damage and even lysis, however, no morphological changes are detected because of the short timeframes used.

【 授权许可】

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