The high-throughput discovery of antimicrobial materials

The development of combinatorial metallurgical synthesis methods, such as combinatorial physical vapour co-deposition of thin film materials libraries opens new perspectives for cost-effective and efficient screening of novel alloys with attractive properties or even unusual features. The main advantage of this approach is that in a single process hundreds or even thousands of alloys can be produced. Therefere, the discovery of new materials can be accelerated even by decades.

In the project, we intend to design a number of metallic materials with antibacterial properties that can be used to replace or modify surfaces in operating rooms, surgical tools, textiles and implants. The main goal is to reduce the number of health-care associated infections and the use of antibiotics. The project will last 2 years.