Characteristic Studies on the Zr-Based Metallic Glass Thin Film on Antibacterial Capability Fabricated by Magnetron Sputtering Process

Silver and copper are commonly used as antibacterial elements in most of biomedical apparatus. Because silver (Ag) is relatively expensive and has some tissue-toxicity as the concentration of ionized silver reaches a critical value, it is necessary to find an alternative element for treating some kinds of bacterial or fungal infection. Copper-based antibacterial material can be a good candidate because of its lower cost, better antifungal ability, and higher chemical stability than those of silver. A series of ZrCuNiAl thin films are coated on 304 stainless steel by a DC sputtering method with different sputtering power. The amorphous feature of these ZrCuNiAl thin films is confirmed by glancing incident x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). The porosity and surface roughness are observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The adhesion capability and hardness of these amorphous thin films are conducted by scratch test and nano indentation, respectively. In addition, the organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii and Candida albicans are used in this study to evaluate the antimicrobial effects for ZrCuNiAl thin films which coating on 304 stainless steel substrate