BIO-COATCH - Novel sustainable BIOactive COATings to preserve metal surfaces in Cultural heritage and Healthcare

Abstract:

Bacterial contamination/colonization of surfaces/materials is a challenging issue that affects many aspects of modern society and drives the search for solutions applicable to different fields including cultural heritage (CH) conservation (where bacterial colonization can lead to biodeterioration) and healthcare (H) safety (where bacterial contamination is the cause of healthcare-associated infections). Considering these two fields, in this project, we propose the development and study of new generation of safe coatings to be applied on metal substrates that combine anticorrosion protection (for metal substrate preservation) with antibacterial activity and environmental sustainability. Coatings made of cutin (CUT, derived from tomato peel by-products) and hydroxyapatite (HAP, formed in situ starting from phosphate precursors) will be developed on two substrates typically used in CH and H applications (bronze and copper, respectively). These coatings comply with the requirement of environmental sustainability in accordance with Circular Economy’s principles and strategies, as the CUT-based coating allows the valorization of food waste products and HAP production process avoids the use of toxic solvents typically used for commercial alternatives. These coatings will be combined with metal nanoparticles (made of Ag/Zn combinations) that are efficient at low doses

and are also active against biofilms, which consist of structured communities of microbial cells firmly attached to a surface and characterized by high resistance to stresses. The activities of the project will initially involve the development of the functionalized coatings and the preparation of the coated and uncoated substrates to be tested in preliminary screenings of anticorrosion and antibacterial properties, biocompatibility and environmental sustainability. DoE will be used to rationalize the number of samples to test in the screenings and will be used to integrate the results to provide the most promising functionalized coating formulations (SFC-BEST) for each substrate in CH and H applications. Antibiofilm activity of the SFC-BEST and its biocompatibility with human cell lines will be then investigated together with the bacterial response to the coating, to determine the molecular basis of the antibacterial activity. Lastly, the durability will be assessed under natural and artificial ageing conditions and LCA will compare the sustainability of the production of these SFC-BEST with commercially available alternative products. The results will provide possible innovative solutions for better protection of historical monuments and safer fruition of healthcare institutions and, in general, public spaces. These aims are in line with the strategic emerging themes of the Human Wellbeing areas of intervention “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society” and “Health” within the European Research and Innovation Programme 2021-2027.