Deposition of antibacterial nanocomposite films using an atmospehric pressure nonequilibrium plasma jet

As biomedical devices becoming an essential part of human healthcare system, infections associated with the devices and other biomaterials, which are responsible for substantial morbidity and a steep cost increase, is a continuous challenge worldwide. A promising strategy to overcome the barrier is the application of biomaterials with an antibacterial surface. Owning to its broad-spectrum antibiotics property and rare yet associated with drug resistance, silver has become one of the most largely used metals to confer antibacterial properties to biomaterials. Presumed to be more active than bulk silver materials, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been expected as a new generation of antimicrobials. Therefore, it is a great interest in the development of antimicrobial surfaces using AgNPs. With the merit of achieving high reactivity at a low gas temperature and the capability of depositing films practically on any type of material and device, an atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma jet has been employed. The plasma was generated in N₂ gas and TMDSO was used as a precursor for SiOx films deposition. The plasma system was used for the one step fabrication of nanocomposite films with the introduction of AgNPs directly into the plasma zones. The plasma jet was characterized using optical emission spectroscopy. The methods of SEM/EDX, XPS and GD-OES were implemented to study the morphology and stoichiometryof the deposited films. The result reveals the morphology and stoichiometry of the films can be tailored during the process up to AgNPs content in the films of about 32%. Antibacterial characterization of the films was studied using Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains. Test shows the effective antibacterial activity of the coatings and indicates the fabrication of the nanocomposite films using atmospheric pressure plasma process represents a feasible way to overcome the issue of device related infections.