The water industries identify that there is a clear need for the development of novel antibiofilm technology capable of suppression of biofilm formation. The work presented in this paper highlights the development of self-sustained antibiofilm materials that features potential for industrial applications. The novel NO-generating antibiofilm technology diverts from the unfavorable requirement of adding a reducing agent and importantly, the less tendency for development of bacterial resistance. In this study, we developed poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-solvent casted mixed metal copper and iron complexes capable of catalytic generation of the antibiofilm nitric oxide (NO) from endogenous nitrite. In the absence of additional reducing agent, we demonstrated that the presence of iron complex facilitates a redox cycling, converting the copper(II) complex to active copper(I) species, which catalyzes the generation of NO from nitrite.

Read more in ACS Applied Materials Interface, 2016 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b10357

Novel NO - mixed metal oxide system generating antibiofilm technology