Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carvacrol Thin Films on Stainless Steel to Reduce the Formation of E. Coli and S. Aureus Biofilms

Tsegaye Gashaw Getnet; Gabriela F da Silva; Iolanda S Duarte; Milton E Kayama; Elidiane C Rangel; Nilson C Cruz

doi:10.3390/ma13143166

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carvacrol Thin Films on Stainless Steel to Reduce the Formation of E. Coli and S. Aureus Biofilms

Materials (Basel). 2020 Jul 15;13(14):3166. doi: 10.3390/ma13143166.

Authors

Tsegaye Gashaw Getnet^{1

2}, Gabriela F da Silva³, Iolanda S Duarte³, Milton E Kayama⁴, Elidiane C Rangel¹, Nilson C Cruz¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Technological Plasmas, São Paulo State University, Sorocaba 18087-180, SP, Brazil.
² Department of Chemistry, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar 79, Ethiopia.
³ Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Sorocaba 18052-780, SP, Brazil.
⁴ Laboratory of Plasmas and Applications, São Paulo State University, Guaratinguetá 12516-410, SP, Brazil.

Abstract

In this paper, we have investigated the deposition of thin films from natural carvacrol extract using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma polymerization, aiming at the inhibition of bacteria adhesion and proliferation. The films deposited on stainless steel samples have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared reflectance-absorbance spectroscopy, profilometry, and contact angle measurements. Films with thicknesses ranging from 1.5 μm to 3.5 μm presented a chemical structure similar to that of carvacrol. While the formation of biofilm was observed on untreated samples, the coating completely inhibited the adhesion of E. coli and reduced the adhesion of S. aureus biofilm in more than 90%.

Keywords: biofilm inhibition; carvacrol plasma polymerization; dielectric barrier discharge.

Abstract

Grants and funding