Durability and stability of antimicrobial coated surfaces

Abstract

Antimicrobial surface coating of i.e. medical devices could contribute to infection prevention and reduction of hospital acquired infections (HAI). Recent studies showed a significant reduction in the microbial contamination of antimicrobial coated surfaces in clinical setups. Nevertheless, there are only few publications available that deal with the durability and stability of these coatings under routine clinical conditions. In this work different antimicrobial coating compositions were tested on different surfaces for their durability and remaining antimicrobial activity. Our results show that the durability and stability of a subsequent applied antimicrobial coating is strongly dependent on the chemical formulation of the coating and also the underlying surface condition. Whereas we could still detect remaining antimicrobial coating and activity on some samples after repeated abrasion testing, some other samples lost their coating and activity after only a few abrasion cycles. Interestingly the integrated antimicrobial substance in the 3-D printed samples showed strong antimicrobial activity even after rough treatment of the surfaces (brushing, scratching).

Keywords

• antimicrobial activity
• surfaces
• medical device
• abrasion
• durability
• stability