Ultrathin Films Resist Bacteria
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 16, 2008 -- Inexpensive, easy-to-produce, ultrathin films made of polymers could be applied to medical devices and other surfaces to control microbe accumulation. They could also help reduce the spread of hospital-acquired infections, which take the lives of 100,000 people and cost the US an estimated $4.5 billion annually, said researchers at MIT who developed the films.
They found that whether bacteria stick to surfaces depends partly on how stiff those surfaces are, and that they could control the...