Anti-bacterial silver coatings exhibiting enhanced activity through the addition of platinum

Anti-bacterial silver coatings were deposited on thermally sensitive polymeric substrates using a combination of magnetron sputtering and neutral atom beam (Saddle Field) plasma sources. The anti-bacterial activity of silver is dependent on the release of Ag+ ions, which act by displacing other essential metal ions such as Ca2+ or Zn+. This study evaluates the use of platinum to enhance the release of silver ions from the silver coating. In the galvanic series platinum is more active than silver and therefore Pt enhances Ag+ ion formation through galvanic action. In order to evaluate this, potential step (chronoamperometric) experiments were performed on silver/platinum alloys containing 0.5 and 3.0% Pt. The resulting current–time curves demonstrated that Ag+ formation increased with platinum addition by up to 100%. A magnetron sputtering target was fabricated consisting of 1% Pt in a Ag matrix. This was used to sputter Pt/Ag coatings with thicknesses in the range 5–12 nm onto silicone and polyurethane substrates. The bacterial adhesion and bactericidal effects of the coated polymers was assessed using Straphylococcus epidermidis and the cytotoxicity using fibroblast cells. The addition of 1% Pt was found to significantly enhance the anti-bacterial effectiveness of the Ag coatings. Up to a 2 log reduction in bacterial adhesion was achieved for 5 nm thick Ag/1% Pt coatings on silicone, which did not exhibit cytotoxicity.