Antimicrobial Polymeric Surfaces Using Embedded Silver Nanoparticles

Pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms) can survive up to a few days on surfaces and can propagate through surfaces in high percentages, and thus, these surfaces turn into a primary source of pathogen transmission. To prevent and mitigate pathogen transmission, antimicrobial surfaces seem to be a promising option that can be prepared by using resilient, mass-produced polymers with partly embedded antimicrobial nanoparticles (NPs) with controlled size. In the present study, a 6 nm thick Ag nanolayer was sputter deposited on polycarbonate (PC) substrate and then thermally annealed, in a first step at 120 degrees C (temperature below Tg) for two hours, for promoting NP diffusion and growth, and in a second step at 180 degrees C (temperature above Tg) for 22 h, for promoting thermal embedding of the NPs into the polymer surface. The variation in the height of NPs on the polymer surface with thermal annealing confirms the embedding of NPs. It was shown that the incorporation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) had a great impact on the antibacterial capacity, as the Ag NP-embedded polymer surface presented an inhibition effect on the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The tested surface-engineering process of incorporating antimicrobial Ag NPs in a polymer surface is both cost-effective and highly scalable.

Automated summary

Pathogens can survive on surfaces for a few days and can propagate through them, making surfaces a major source of pathogen transmission. Antimicrobial surfaces, created using resilient, mass-produced polymers with embedded antimicrobial nanoparticles, show promise in preventing and mitigating pathogen transmission. In this study, a 6 nm thick layer of silver nanoparticles was deposited on a polycarbonate substrate and thermally annealed to embed the nanoparticles into the polymer surface. The incorporation of silver nanoparticles had a significant impact on the antibacterial capacity of the polymer surface, inhibiting the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The surface-engineering process used in this study is cost-effective and scalable.