The ongoing pandemic has substantial lack in preparation to fight a major pandemic. Among many ways to minimize human-to-human transmission of highly contagious diseases including vaccination and social distancing, the use of mask in social gatherings have been proven to be effective. The commercial disposable masks are commonly known to be less effective to reduce transmission of microbes. Further, it is a nuisance to wear them for many hours. Disposable masks are also a threat to the environment because of producing nano and microplastics from their million tons of plastic waste as estimated since the start of COVID-19. One of many ways to promote face masks is enhancing the functionality of the mask and making them more aesthetically appealing. The use of antimicrobial surfaces on face masks, wearable devices, and publicly used surfaces are getting attention in research community. However, their large-scale use is limited due to cost, toxicity of materials used in the coating, lack of broad-band antimicrobial effectiveness and reusability for long periods. We report a low-cost, easily fabricable, and reusable antimicrobial surface (MAC) coating that provides a broadband effectiveness against bacteria (gram-positive and gram-negative), virus, and fungi. The broadband deactivation of the MAC coating is due to in-situ generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including H2O2, OH., and O2. Both ROS and metallic species are known to be toxic to broadband microbes. We demonstrate that the MAC treatment on the bacteria resulted in the deformation of the cell wall and formation of the nanoscale pores in the membrane. The experimental data suggested that a decrease in six log scale of bacteria was achieved within five minutes of the MAC treatment. We will also describe the role of shape, size, and morphology of nanoparticles (Ag, Cu, Au, Pd) in the microbial deactivation.

Accelerated deactivation of broad-range microbes via in-situ generation of reactive oxygenated species for wearable devices

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