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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Potentiodynamic Corrosion Testing
Published on: September 4, 2016
A rugged, self-sterilizing antimicrobial copper coating on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene: a preliminary
Ke Wu1, Samuel P Douglas2, Gaowei Wu3
1Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1E 0AJ, UK. i.p.parkin@ucl.ac.uk and Division of Microbial Diseases, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD, UK.
Abstract:
We report here for the first time how the combination of a precursor solution and low temperature (170 °C) aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition were used to bond a copper coating to ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and promote robustness. This metallic thin film remained intact on the UHMWPE substrate after the Scotch tape test and showed notable wear-resistance after 10 cycles of sand paper-abrasion. Antimicrobial assays against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus revealed potent dark bactericidal activity with 99.999% reduction in bacterial number within 15 minutes. These results suggest that the modified UHMWPE could be a potential candidate for antimicrobial plastics and in the long term may find application in prosthetic joint applications.
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