Department of Chemical Engineering and Center for Soft Matter and Biological Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
J Hosp Infect. 2022 Nov;129:58-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2022.07.022. Epub 2022 Aug 5.
Disease can be spread through contact with contaminated surfaces (fomites). For example, fomites have been implicated in the spread of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antimicrobial surface treatments are a potential method of reducing disease transmission from fomites, and broad-spectrum activity is desirable.
To test cuprous oxide (CuO) and cupric oxide (CuO) coatings for antimicrobial activity against 12 micro-organisms including bacteria and fungi.
We fabricated two surface coatings. The CuO coating was fabricated in a simple two-step process using polyurethane to bind the active copper oxide particles; CuO was prepared by heat treatment of CuO particles in air to produce cupric oxide (CuO) and to cause early-stage sintering to form a continuous coating. The antimicrobial activity was examined with 10 μL of microbial suspension droplets followed by counting cells as colony-forming units (cfu).
The coatings rapidly killed nine different micro-organisms, including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, mycobacteria and fungi. For example, the CuO/PU coating killed 99.9997% of P. aeruginosa and 99.9993% of S. aureus after 1 h. Efficacy was not reduced after weekly cleanings. The antimicrobial activity of the CuO coating was unchanged after abrasion treatment, and the coatings were not cytotoxic to human cells.
The combination of broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, abrasion resistance, and low toxicity of the CuO coating suggests potential use in healthcare settings.
疾病可以通过接触污染表面（接触传染物）传播。例如，接触传染物已被牵连到耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）和铜绿假单胞菌的传播。抗菌表面处理是减少接触传染物传播疾病的一种潜在方法，广谱活性是理想的。
测试氧化铜（CuO）和氧化亚铜（CuO）涂层对包括细菌和真菌在内的 12 种微生物的抗菌活性。
我们制备了两种表面涂层。CuO 涂层通过使用聚氨酯在两步简单的过程中制造，以结合活性氧化铜颗粒；CuO 通过在空气中加热 CuO 颗粒来制备，以产生氧化铜（CuO）并引起早期烧结以形成连续涂层。用 10μL 微生物悬浮液液滴进行抗菌活性测试，然后以菌落形成单位（cfu）计数细胞。
该涂层迅速杀死了包括革兰氏阴性和革兰氏阳性细菌、分枝杆菌和真菌在内的九种不同的微生物。例如，CuO/PU 涂层在 1 小时后杀死了 99.9997%的铜绿假单胞菌和 99.9993%的金黄色葡萄球菌。每周清洁后，功效没有降低。CuO 涂层的抗菌活性在磨损处理后没有变化，并且涂层对人体细胞没有细胞毒性。
CuO 涂层具有广谱抗菌活性、耐磨性和低毒性的结合，表明其在医疗保健环境中有潜在的用途。
