Deposition of anti-bacterial silver coatings on polymeric substrates

A low temperature (70 degreesC) magnetron deposition process has been developed for the deposition of silver coatings on thermally sensitive polymeric substrates. This low temperature deposition was achieved by combining magnetron sputtering with a neutral atom beam (Saddle Field) plasma source. A range of polymer sheet and tube substrates was coated with silver thicknesses in the range 5-50 nm. The bacterial adhesion and bactericidal effects of the coated polymers was assessed using Staphylococcus epidermidis and the cytotoxicity using fibroblast cells. Up to a 3 log reduction in bacterial adhesion was achieved for silver coatings on polyurethane, which did not exhibit cytotoxicity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.