Antibacterial properties of cold sprayed ZnO nanopowder and composite coatings

• Main Author: Zhong, Weixian.
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Biotechnological production
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/16571
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In the present work, aluminium/zinc oxide (Al/ZnO) and copper/zinc (Cu/ZnO) oxide composite powders of various ratios were mixed by ball-milling. The zinc oxide was formed from wet chemical synthesis. The powders were deposited on 2 different substrates, Al 6061 and glass using Cold Spray. The anti-bacterial effects of the original feedstock powders and the Al/ZnO and Cu/ZnO coatings were evaluated by the Standard (Viable) Plate Count method and Kirby-Bauer diffusion assay. Escherichia Coli was used as the model bacteria. The results indicated that the anti-bacterial effect of all the powders increased with the proportion of ZnO. The coatings retained the anti-bacterial properties of the original feedstock powders. This project has showed that it is possible to coat bioactive, anti-bacterial powders onto various substrates while retaining their anti-bacterial properties. This could be applied in applications requiring an anti-bacterial surface. Keywords: Cold Spray, aluminium/zinc oxide, copper/zinc oxide, ball milling, wet chemical synthesis, Standard (Viable) Plate Count method, Kirby-Bauer diffusion assay, Escherichia Coli, anti-bacterial