Antimicrobial behavior of Cu-bearing Zr-based bulk metallic glasses

• The antimicrobial property of BMGs against Staphylococcus aureus is reported.
• The Cu-bearing Zr-based BMGs are effective in bacteria killing upon moist contact.
• The bacteria killing mechanism is related to the release of Cu ions.

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 4 h 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.

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