Antimicrobial conformal coating on nanostructured surface via atomic layer deposition

Principal investigator: Gang Feng

University: Villanova University

Industry partner: Pulse Technologies, Inc.

Preventing implant-induced infection is crucial for the safe long-term application of implants and thus is of vital importance to Pulse Technologies (Pulse) as a manufacturing company focused exclusively on medical device components. Our objective is to develop an innovative antimicrobial coating manufacturing process for Pulse’s implantable electrodes. As Pulse's proprietary technology, Hierarchical Surface Restructuring (HSR) creates unique surface nanomorphology, drastically enhancing the performance of the implantable electrodes. To minimize the impact of the antimicrobial coating on the performance of HSR implantable devices, the coating must be ultrathin and ultra-conformal to the HSR nanomorphology. This can only be achieved via atomic layer deposition (ALD). We will fabricate ultra-conformal ultrathin antimicrobial coatings on HSR-tuned electrodes via ALD based on biocompatible antimicrobial materials. The material and antimicrobial properties of the coatings will be characterized, and the impact of the antimicrobial coatings on the performance of Pulse’s HSR-tuned implantable electrodes will be investigated.