Nanocomposite coating produced by laser-assisted process to prevent bacterial contamination and protein fouling

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles incorporating within polyethylene glycol (PEG) were deposited on the surface of silicone hydrogel through matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE). In this process, frozen sample was irradiated under a pulsed Nd: YAG 532nm laser for one hour. The MAPLE process is able to maintain the chemical backbone of polymer, and prevents the nanocomposite coating from contamination. Our results indicate that the ZnO-PEG nanocomposite coating reduces over 50% protein absorption on silicone hydrogel. The cytotoxicity study shows that the ZnO-PEG nanocomposites deposited on silicone hydrogels do not impose the toxic effect on mouse NIH/3T3 cells. In addition, MAPLE-deposited ZnO-PEG nanocomposite inhibits the bacterial growth significantly. After 4 hours´ culturing, the relative numbers of E. coli on the nanocomposite coated silicone hydrogel declines to 0.07. Consequently, the ZnO-PEG deposited by MAPLE process can significantly prevent silicone hydrogels from protein fouling and bacterial contamination.