Abstract
The application of surface treatments that incorporate silver or copper as antibacterial elements has become a common practice for a wide variety of medical devices and materials because of their effective activity against nosocomial infections. Ceramic tiles are choice materials for cladding the floors and walls of operation rooms and other hospital spaces. This study is focused on the deposition of biocide physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings on glazed ceramic tiles. The objective was to provide antibacterial activity to the surfaces without worsening their mechanical properties. Silver and copper-doped chromium nitride (CrN) and titanium nitride (TiN) coatings were deposited on samples of tiles. A complete characterization was carried out in order to determine the composition and structure of the coatings, as well as their topographical and mechanical properties. The distribution of Ag and Cu within the coating was analyzed using glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Roughness, microhardness, and scratch resistance were measured for all of the combinations of coatings and dopants, as well as their wettability. Finally, tests of antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were carried out, showing that all of the doped coatings had pronounced biocide activity.
Highlights
A growing body of scientific evidence has demonstrated the key role that environmental surfaces play in the transmission of nosocomial infections
This paper presents a systematic study of the mechanical and antibacterial properties of the combinations of two hard coatings—chromium nitride (CrN) and titanium nitride (TiN)—with two biocide metals (Ag and Cu) co-deposited during a single process on standard glazed ceramic tiles
It can be observed that the deposited physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings have an approximately thickness of 0.7 μm, while the doped part of the coating has less than 100 nm, and the copper and silver content is about 20%
Summary
A growing body of scientific evidence has demonstrated the key role that environmental surfaces play in the transmission of nosocomial infections. Surface treatments and coatings provide a wide range of strategies that have to be tailored to the characteristics of each substrate and environment. The biocide activity of some heavy metals, silver [6] and copper [7], has been extensively used in many situations, even before the clinical introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s. Coatings that incorporate these elements as metallic ions, compounds, or nanoparticles can eventually be used as antibacterial protective layers [8,9]
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