Issue 1, 2019

Multi-directional electrodeposited gold nanospikes for antibacterial surface applications

Abstract

The incorporation of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures across surfaces has been widely reported to impart antibacterial characteristics to a substratum. This occurs because the presence of such nanostructures can induce the mechanical rupture of attaching bacteria, causing cell death. As such, the development of high-efficacy antibacterial nano-architectures fabricated on a variety of biologically relevant materials is critical to the wider acceptance of this technology. In this study, we report the antibacterial behavior of a series of substrata containing multi-directional electrodeposited gold (Au) nanospikes, as both a function of deposition time and precursor concentration. Firstly, the bactericidal efficacy of substrata containing Au nanospikes was assessed as a function of deposition time to elucidate the nanopattern that exhibited the greatest degree of biocidal activity. Here, it was established that multi-directional nanospikes with an average height of ∼302 nm ± 57 nm (formed after a deposition time of 540 s) exhibited the greatest level of biocidal activity, with ∼88% ± 8% of the bacterial cells being inactivated. The deposition time was then kept constant, while the concentration of the HAuCl4 and Pb(CH3COO)2 precursor materials (used for the formation of the Au nanospikes) was varied, resulting in differing nanospike architectures. Altering the Pb(CH3COO)2 precursor concentration produced multi-directional nanostructures with a wider distribution of heights, which increased the average antibacterial efficacy against both Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Importantly, the in situ electrochemical fabrication method used in this work is robust and straightforward, and is able to produce highly reproducible antibacterial surfaces. The results of this research will assist in the wider utilization of mechano-responsive nano-architectures for antimicrobial surface technologies.

Graphical abstract: Multi-directional electrodeposited gold nanospikes for antibacterial surface applications

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Aug 2018
Accepted
08 Aug 2018
First published
21 Aug 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Adv., 2019,1, 203-212

Multi-directional electrodeposited gold nanospikes for antibacterial surface applications

A. Elbourne, V. E. Coyle, V. K. Truong, Ylias M. Sabri, A. E. Kandjani, S. K. Bhargava, E. P. Ivanova and R. J. Crawford, Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 203 DOI: 10.1039/C8NA00124C

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