A rugged, self-sterilizing antimicrobial copper coating on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene: a preliminary study on the feasibility of an antimicrobial prosthetic joint material. Issue 20 (1st May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wu, Ke; Douglas, Samuel P.; Wu, Gaowei; MacRobert, Alexander J.; Allan, Elaine; Knapp, Caroline E.; Parkin, Ivan P.
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 7:Issue 20(2019)
• Page Start: 3310
• Page End: 3318
• Publication Date: 2019-05-01
• Subjects: Materials -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Biomedical materials -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/c9tb00440h
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-750X

Abstract

Abstract : We report here for the first time how a copper coating bond to ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) via low temperature aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition. Abstract : We report here for the first time how the combination of a precursor solution and low temperature (170 °C) aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition were used to bond a copper coating to ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and promote robustness. This metallic thin film remained intact on the UHMWPE substrate after the Scotch tape test and showed notable wear-resistance after 10 cycles of sand paper-abrasion. Antimicrobial assays against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus revealed potent dark bactericidal activity with 99.999% reduction in bacterial number within 15 minutes. These results suggest that the modified UHMWPE could be a potential candidate for antimicrobial plastics and in the long term may find application in prosthetic joint applications.