A process chain for the mass production of nanopatterned bactericidal plastic parts

Surface nanopatterning of plastic parts is a promising solution to enable the mass production of bactericidal applications without using antibiotics. In this work, an innovative process chain for efficiently manufacturing bactericidal parts was developed and validated. It is based on a particular type of laser-induced periodic surface structuring of injection molds that can be effectively replicated onto size-tunable bactericidal nanopatterns. Their polyvalent bactericidal performance directly correlates with the surface feature parameters Shh, Spd, and Spc, showing that higher, denser, and sharper spikes are more effective in killing bacteria by perforating their membrane.