Fabrication and characterizations of thin film metallic glasses: Antibacterial property and durability study for medical application

• Thin film metallic glass (TFMG) coatings are evaluated for medical application.
• Good adhesive TFMG on the dermatome yields blade sharpness improvement of ~ 27%.
• A reduction of ~ 66% in surface roughness is observed after coating with TFMG.
• Water contact angle measurement reveals the hydrophobic characteristic for TFMGs.
• Bacterial adhesion of E. coli and S. aureus to TFMGs is hindered.

Metallic glasses with the disordered atomic structure have unique properties of high strength, high toughness, good corrosion and abrasion resistances. These materials are thus potentially useful for medical application. In this work, we evaluate the antibacterial property and durability of materials sputter-coated with Zr-based (Zr53Cu33Al9Ta5) and Cu-based (Cu48Zr42Ti4Al6) thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs). Good adhesive coating of Zr-based TFMG on the dermatome gives rise to blade sharpness improvement of ~ 27%, substantial surface roughness reduction of ~ 66% and smoother incised wound on the pig skin. As compared to 48.8° on the bare Si wafer, the water contact angles of 119.5° and 106.6° for Zr- and Cu-based TFMGs, respectively, reveal the hydrophobic characteristic of the coated surfaces. The bacterial adhesion of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to both Zr- and Cu-based TFMGs is hindered to different extents.