Studies of black silicon and black diamond as materials for antibacterial surfaces

'Black silicon' (bSi) samples with surfaces covered in nanoneedles of varying length, areal density and sharpness, have been fabricated using a plasma etching process. These nanostructures were then coated with a conformal uniform layer of diamond using hot filament chemical vapour deposit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomaterials science 2018-01, Vol.6 (6), p.1424-1432
Main Authors: Hazell, G, May, P W, Taylor, P, Nobbs, A H, Welch, C C, Su, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Antibacterial materials
Bacteria
Bacterial Infections - prevention & control
Biocompatible Materials - chemistry
Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology
Boron Compounds - chemistry
Boron Compounds - pharmacology
Chemical vapor deposition
Diamond - chemistry
Diamond - pharmacology
Diamond films
Diamonds
E coli
Escherichia coli - drug effects
Humans
Motility
Nanostructure
Nanostructures - chemistry
Needles
Plasma etching
Sharpness
Silicon
Silicon - chemistry
Silicon - pharmacology
Streptococcus gordonii - drug effects
Surface Properties
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Summary:'Black silicon' (bSi) samples with surfaces covered in nanoneedles of varying length, areal density and sharpness, have been fabricated using a plasma etching process. These nanostructures were then coated with a conformal uniform layer of diamond using hot filament chemical vapour deposition to produce 'black diamond' (bD) surfaces. The effectiveness of these bSi and bD surfaces in killing Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. gordonii) bacteria was investigated by culturing the bacteria on the surfaces for a set time and then measuring the live-to-dead ratio. All the nanostructured surfaces killed E. coli at a significantly higher rate than the respective flat Si or diamond control samples. The length of the needles was found to be less important than their separation, i.e. areal density. This is consistent with a model for mechanical bacteria death based on the stretching and disruption of the cell membrane, enhanced by the cells motility on the surfaces. In contrast, S. gordonii were unaffected by the nanostructured surfaces, possibly due to their smaller size, thicker cell membrane and/or their lack of motility.
ISSN:2047-4830
2047-4849
DOI:10.1039/c8bm00107c