Abstract

Antimicrobial materials are being developed to prevent the growth, spread and transfer of harmful microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, as well as to actively disable these microorganisms for the reduction of infections in public, industrial and healthcare environments. This paper demonstrates the most up-to-date patents and research in the area of metal oxides showing antimicrobial activity and discusses their properties and applications. A review of an innovative antimicrobial surface technology, which is based on the formation of an acidic surface deteriorating cell growth and proliferation is presented. The properties of the novel materials such as molybdenum trioxide and tungsten trioxide and their fabrication methods and general mechanism, which describe antimicrobial effectiveness, are discussed briefly. Recent advances, including the influence of morphology and durability of molybdenum and tungsten oxide on the activation of an antimicrobial surface are summarized. The investigated method is facile and suitable to produce long lasting antibacterial composites, useful for inanimate surfaces, which are used in public environments.

Keywords: Acidic surfaces, antimicrobial materials, antimicrobial surface technology, molybdenum oxide, nosocomial infections, tungsten oxide, transition metal oxides.