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

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 (Zr₅₃Cu ₃₃Al₉Ta₅) and Cu-based (Cu₄₈Zr ₄₂Ti₄Al₆) 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.