Superhydrophobic copper in biological liquids: Antibacterial activity and microbiologically induced or inhibited corrosion.

Superhydrophobic copper in biological liquids: Antibacterial activity and microbiologically induced or inhibited corrosion. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2019 Nov 02;:110622 Authors: Emelyanenko AM, Pytskii IS, Kaminsky VV, Chulkova EV, Domantovsky AG, Emelyanenko KA, Sobolev VD, Aleshkin AV, Boinovich LB Abstract The bactericidal activity of copper and copper alloys is well appreciated and was already exploited in medical practice in 19th century. However, despite of being an essential nutrient required by organisms to perform life functions, excess copper is extremely toxic and detrimental to health. Recent studies have shown that superhydrophobic surfaces have a significant antibacterial potential for reduction of nosocomial infections. At the same time, the prolonged contact with biological liquids may cause a degradation of the superhydrophobic copper surface and corrosion with increasing egress of toxic copper ions. These aspects are poorly studied so far. In this paper, we analyze the evolution of the properties of both the superhydrophobic copper surface and the suspension of Escherichia coli bacteria during their prolonged contact and study the impact of such contact on the bactericidal activity of the surface. It is shown that by controlling the corrosion resistance and the wettability of the superhydrophobic copper substrate, it becomes possible to sustain the bactericidal action of copper substrates for a long time, simu...
Source: Colloids and Surfaces - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces Source Type: research