title: Antimicrobial behavior of Cu-bearing Zr-based bulk metallic glasses.
abstract: The antimicrobial behavior of Cu-bearing Zr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) was investigated for the first time against the Gram positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus to evaluate their potential applications in healthcare settings. Despite their lack of bacteria-killing effect under a relatively severe experimental setting of dynamic immersion, the biocidal potency of the two Zr-based BMGs was demonstrated via a moist contact assay. There was a significant reduction in viable bacterial populations after 4h of contact on the Zr-based BMGs, which was evidenced by the pronounced reduction in viable bacterial populations. To understand the mechanism of cell death, a direct relationship was established between the killing efficiency and the ability of the substrate to release Cu ions. Findings in this study will direct the future design of antimicrobial BMGs with enhanced killing efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2100, USA.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0845, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Fozo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2100, USA.
authors.forename: Peter K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Liaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2100, USA; Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2210, USA. Electronic address: whe5@utk.edu.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D013499:Surface Properties; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003300:Copper; D015040:Zirconium
keywords: Antimicrobial behavior; Bulk metallic glass; Copper