Antimicrobial oligo(p-phenylene-ethynylene) film deposited by resonant infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation

The antimicrobial oligomer, oligo(p-phenylene-ethynylene) (OPE), was deposited as thin films by resonant infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) on solid substrates and exhibited light-induced biocidal activity. The biocidal activity of OPE thin films deposited by spin-coating and drop-casting was also investigated for comparison. Enhanced bacterial attachment and biocidal efficiency of the film deposited by RIR-MAPLE were observed and attributed to nanoscale surface topography of the thin film.