Recubrimientos funcionales sobre utensilios de cocina impresos en 3D

Abstract

Nowadays, desktop 3D printers are increasingly used to produce everyday custom objects, being cooking equipment the most important ones. These tools have rough surfaces suitable for microbial proliferation. The aim of this research is the reduction in bacterial biofilm formation on 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) plates via application of coatings generated by atmospheric pressure cold plasma (APCP). Cooking equipment designed for people with hand mobility problems are one of the main target of these coatings. Acrylic acid (AcAc) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) were chosen as liquid precursors; furthermore, nitrogen (99.99%) was the generator plasma gas. Three different bacteria were studied: Echerichia coli CECT515, Listeria monocytogenes CECT911 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Finally, coatings that decrease bacterial biofilm formation on PLA plates were identified. The highest effectivity was obtained with AcAc treatment that could reduce each bacteria biofilm formation almost to half of the initial levels. Meanwhile, TEOS treatment was effective only for L. monocytogenes. These results are promising for future investigations on antibiofilm capacities of different food surfaces.