Antibacterial coatings with short-term effect may fail over longer periods of time

Researchers from the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology of the University of Tartu have shown in a recently published study that antibacterial coatings which initially appear highly effective at destroying bacteria, may lose their performance over time. Therefore, long-term testing is essential for developing the best antibacterial materials. The article describing the results of the study, "Artificial aging induced changes in ZnO- and TiO₂-based polyacrylic surface coatings," was published in the journal npj Materials Degradation.