Bacterial adhesion on the metal-polymer composite coatings

Abstract Bacterial adhesion on the surfaces of medical devices, food processing equipment, heat exchangers and ship hulls has been recognized as a widespread problem. Bacterial adhesion mechanism is complex and many factors affect cell adhesion. In this paper, the effect of surface free energy of the coatings on bacterial adhesion was investigated. The metal-polymer composite coatings with various surface free energies were developed by an electroless plating technique. Bacterial adhesion behaviour on these coatings was investigated. Contact angles were obtained using a sessile drop method with a Dataphysics OCA-20 contact angle analyser. According to the contact angle values, the surface energies of the samples and their dispersive and polar components were calculated using van Oss acid–base approach. The experimental results showed that the surface free energy of the coatings had a significant influence on bacterial adhesion. The bacterial adhesion behaviour on the surfaces was explained using the extended DLVO theory.