Antimicrobial Aluminum Surfaces for Curbing Healthcare-Associated Infections—A Short Review

Healthcare-associated infections are serious public health problem. Besides antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral therapies, one potential strategy for breaking the chain of infection transmission is via the installation of antibacterial surfaces. Aluminum is an attractive material for fabricating frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs, push plate, bedrails, etc. Recently, our research group and others have demonstrated that by utilizing appropriate surface treatment technologies, such as anodization, low-surface-energy passivation, and electrochemical surface modification, on an AA6061-T6 aluminum alloy, aluminum could be rendered antimicrobial. Such surface technologies can be efficient in antimicrobial activities, and they also show advantages in terms of robustness and durability. These novel surfaces have been shown to reduce the microbial burden of clinically relevant pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli.