The subject of the offer are thermally-switchable polymer brushes with immobilized silver nanoparticles featuring bactericidal properties. From the application point of view, the most interesting property is the possibility of an automatic, reversible change of antibacterial properties of polymer layers with silver nanoparticles induced by the temperature change. The measurements of bactericidal ability of brushes from different polymer matrices without Ag nanoparticles show a strong increase in the number of bacteria when the temperature changes from 4°C to 37°C. Contrarily, for the brushes modified with the Ag nanoparticles, the number of bacteria at 37°C is reduced to zero, which confirms the strong bactericidal effect activated automatically at elevated temperatures.

The offered solution is a subject of a patent application. Futher research and development are conducted at the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science of the Jagiellonian University. Currently, the Centre for Technology Transfer CITTRU is looking for entities interested in licensing and application of the technology described above.

commercial utility: The antibacterial, smart polymer surfaces, also showing self-cleaning ability, can be permanently immobilized onto glass, ceramic, metal or plastic surface by an economic method. These layers can be used everywhere, where occurs a typical and undesirable phenomenon of fast bacterial growth at elevated temperatures. These bacteria can be completely eliminated employing the proposed technology (f. i. in a case of cold storage failure, applications as food packaging, inflammation in cosmetology/pharmacy, undesirable temperature increase in laboratory cell culture, occurrence of inflammation on the skin under the bandage, in industrial cooling as well as air conditioning).

field of science: medical biology, chemistry, material engineering

forms of protection: patent application

technological maturity: demanding R & D

property rights: Jagiellonian University

variants of cooperation: license, spin-off company, comercial contract research, sale