MORE | Spring 2020

Controlling Silver Release from Antimicrobial Surface Coatings for Biofouling Control

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) can be used as surface coatings to control the spread of microorganisms due to the high antimicrobial activity of silver ions (Ag⁺). However, over long periods of time, Ag-NPs rapidly dissolves into silver ions and silver is depleted from the surface. The objective of the study is to create a protective layer around silver by performing controlled sulfidation of Ag-NPs for a slower silver release. Different experiments with different Ag:S ratios were performed to identify the optimal surface chemistry that limit the number of viable cells on the surface.