Sputtered silver nanocluster/silica composite coatings for antibacterial applications

Several fields associated to people and everyday life products can be easily affected by bacterial contamination. An increasing interest for antibacterial products can be seen on the scientific literature and on the market in many fields, from medical applications to everyday life products. To this purpose, a new antibacterial silver nanocluster/silica composite coating was developed. The radio frequency (RF) co-sputtering is the technique used for the coating deposition, suitable for glasses, ceramics, metals and polymers. Sputtering technology is adaptable and suitable also for substrates susceptible to high temperature (e.g. polymers). Moreover this technology allows the tailoring of the silver content (and consequently the antibacterial activity) depending on the specific application and requirements, from aesthetic appearance to bactericidal power and biocompatibility. The main properties of the coating in terms of antibacterial effect, morphology, composition and adhesion to silica substrates, used as model, will be discussed. In addition, some case studies will be reported, demonstrating the suitability of this coating to be applied on different materials, from medical devices, cheese moulds, mobile telephones to aerospace structures.