Hospitals, medical devices and public spaces rely heavily on antibiotics and chemical disinfectants to control infections. As antibiotic resistance rises, those tools are becoming less reliable.
Jose Mendoza Cortes and his team in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University are asking a different question: instead of fighting bacteria with drugs, can materials themselves do the work?
The team engineered a new antibacterial surface by anchoring single copper atoms onto an ultra-thin material called boron nitride. When exposed to light similar to sunlight, the nanoscale copper surface generates short-lived but powerful oxygen molecules that damage bacterial cells on contact.
Laboratory testing shows strong antibacterial activity, and the work has been extended beyond the lab bench. For in vivo models of infected wounds, treated areas healed more effectively than untreated ones, suggesting the approach can function in living systems and potentially provide better health outcomes.
Safety was a key concern in developing these materials. Unlike many metal-based antimicrobials, this platform uses extremely tiny amounts of copper and showed no detectable copper leaching under the conditions tested.
Rather than a finished product, Cortes’ research presents a foundational materials platform. With further development, surfaces like these could help reduce infections, lower reliance on antibiotics and support safer medical facilities and the physical spaces we use every day.
This story was originally featured on the College of Engineering website.
