Bacterial health care-associated infections (HCAI) are one of the acute problems of modern healthcare. One of the promising directions for solving this problem is the development of materials that either have a bactericidal effect against HCAI pathogens or prevent the transmission of bacteria deposited on their surface by patients and staff contacts with such surfaces. In this work, the antibacterial effectiveness of copper contact surfaces with different wettability was investigated. Particular attention was paid to studying the effect on this efficacy of surface contamination by both human contact sweat and bacterial life-supporting substances, using a peptone solution as an example. Due to the high cost of copper, the possibility of replacing bulk copper material with less expensive sprayed copper-coated materials was also investigated. The test results showed that the bactericidal efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus strain of both control copper and superhydrophilic copper samples, as well as of sputtered copper films, is close to 100% and almost unchanged after contamination with peptone solution or sweat excretions. Superhydrophobic copper surfaces have less bactericidal efficacy, but due to the non-wettability effect and low cell adhesion to such surfaces, they remain uncontaminated longer and thus also promote reducing the transmission of infections through the touch surfaces made of them.

The global spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) hospital-acquired pathogens is a serious problem for healthcare units. The challenge of the spreading of nosocomial infections, also known as hospital-acquired pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, must be addressed not only by developing effective drugs, but also by improving preventive measures in hospitals, such as passive bactericidal coatings deposited onto the touch surfaces. In this paper, we studied the antibacterial activity of superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic copper surfaces against the P. aeruginosa strain PA103 and its four different polyresistant clinical isolates with MDR. To fabricate superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic coatings, we subjected the copper surfaces to laser processing with further chemosorption of fluorooxysilane to get a superhydrophobic substrate. The antibacterial activity of superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic copper surfaces was shown, with respect to both the collection strain PA103 and polyresistant clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, and the evolution of the decontamination of a bacterial suspension is presented and discussed. The presented results indicate the promising potential of the exploitation of superhydrophilic coatings in the manufacture of contact surfaces for healthcare units, where the risk of infection spread and contamination by hospital-acquired pathogens is extremely high.

A method has been proposed for creating an operationally durable copper coating with antimicrobial properties for the buttons of electrical switches based on the gas dynamic spray deposition of copper on acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic. It is shown that during the coating process, a polymer film is formed on top of the copper layer. Comparative in situ studies of microbial contamination have shown that the copper-coated buttons have a significant antimicrobial effect compared to standard buttons. Analysis of swabs over a 22-week study in a hospital environment showed that the frequency of contamination for a copper-coated button with various microorganisms was 2.7 times lower than that of a control button. The presented results allow us to consider the developed copper coating for plastic switches an effective alternative method in the fight against healthcare-associated infections.

Superhydrophilic copper surfaces with hierarchical textures have exhibited a high efficiency in fighting against nosocomial infections. However, one of the key drawbacks of these surfaces is their high susceptibility to mechanical contamination with fibrous materials in the course of sanitation procedures. This study has proposed a method for a laser modification enhancing the resistance of superhydrophilic copper surfaces to fiber contamination during their sanitary treatment. The modified surfaces retain their superhydrophilicity and exhibit superhydrophobic properties after the application of a hydrophobic agent. Moreover, the proposed modification method improves the resistance of a hierarchical texture to abrasive wear while remaining preserved high bactericidal properties. The results obtained have suggested that these modified textured copper materials can be used as bactericidal contact surfaces to combat nosocomial infections in medical facilities.

Superhydrophilic copper surfaces with hierarchical textures have demonstrated high effectiveness in combating healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). However, a key drawback of these surfaces is their susceptibility to mechanical contamination by fibrous materials during sanitary treatment. This study proposes a method for laser modification of superhydrophilic copper surfaces to enhance resistance to fiber contamination during sanitary processing. The modified surfaces retain superhydrophilicity and exhibit superhydrophobic properties upon the application of a hydrophobic agent. Additionally, the proposed modification method improves the resistance of the hierarchical texture to abrasive wear while maintaining high bactericidal properties. The results suggest that these modified textured copper materials can be utilized as bactericidal touch surfaces to combat HAIs in medical facilities.