Article
Antimicrobial Activity of 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene
Styrene (ABS) Polymer-Coated with Silver Nanoparticles
Isabel Tse
1,†
, Atishay Jay
2,†
, Ina Na
3
, Sean Murphy
4
, Nereida Niño-Martínez
5
,
Gabriel Alejandro Martínez-Castañon
6
, Jamie Magrill
3
and Horacio Bach
1,
*
Citation: Tse, I.; Jay, A.; Na, I.;
Murphy, S.; Niño-Martínez, N.;
Martínez-Castañon, G.A.; Magrill, J.;
Bach, H. Antimicrobial Activity of
3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene
Styrene (ABS) Polymer-Coated with
Silver Nanoparticles. Materials 2021,
14, 7681. https://doi.org/10.3390/
ma14247681
Academic Editor: Juergen Stampfl
Received: 20 October 2021
Accepted: 8 December 2021
Published: 13 December 2021
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1
Division of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6H3Z6, Canada; isabel-tse@hotmail.com
2
School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H3Z6, Canada;
atishay1@student.ubc.ca
3
DECAP Research & Development Inc., Richmond, BC V7C2A6, Canada; inana96@gmail.com (I.N.);
jamie@decap.ca (J.M.)
4
Centre for High-Throughput Phenogenomics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6H3Z6, Canada; sean.murphy@dentistry.ubc.ca
5
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí 78000, Mexico;
nereyda.nino@uaslp.mx
6
Facultad de Estomatología, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí 78000, Mexico;
mtzcastanon@fciencias.uaslp.mx
* Correspondence: hbach@mail.ubc.ca; Tel.:+1-604-875-4111 (ext. 62107)
† Both authors contributed equally.
Abstract:
Medical devices with antimicrobial properties are a potential long-term solution to the
high rate of multi-drug-resistant healthcare-associated infections. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are
an established agent for effectively eliminating a wide range of microbial strains. AgNPs have
been commonly incorporated into traditional plastic materials; however, recently, there has been
increased interest in using AgNPs combined with 3D-printing technology for medical devices due
to the accessibility and customizability of 3D-printed products. This study reports a novel method
of utilizing acetone to partially dissolve 3D-printed polymer acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
plastic to attach a layer of AgNPs. The antimicrobial properties of this AgNP-coated surface were
tested against several microbial strains prevalent in healthcare-associated infections. AgNP-coated
ABS (AgNP-ABS) plastic demonstrated significant elimination of viable bacteria within 4 h for all
tested bacterial species (Acinetobacter baumannii, non-pathogenic and pathogenic Escherichia coli,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and within 19 h for the tested
fungus Candida albicans. The longevity of adhesion of AgNPs to the ABS plastic was assessed by
checking antibacterial activity against A. baumannii after repeat use cycles. AgNP-ABS plastic showed
decreased antibacterial efficacy with repeated use but maintained the ability to eliminate microbes
within 3 h for up to eight use cycles. The AgNP-coated ABS plastic showed efficacy as an antimicrobial
surface, and future studies will consider its applicability in the production of medical devices.
Keywords:
3D printing; antibacterial; antifungal; multi-drug resistant; silver nanoparticles; acryloni-
trile butadiene styrene
1. Introduction
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been reported to have antimicrobial effects against
various strains of bacteria, fungi, and viruses [
1
–
4
]. These antimicrobial effects are thought
to result from the steady release of Ag
+
from AgNPs into the environment. Ag
+
is sub-
sequently free to adhere to the cell membranes of microbes and contributes to cell death
through unbalancing cell membrane structure. In addition, Ag
+
might generate reactive
oxygen species (ROS), protein inactivation, and lipid peroxidation [
1
,
5
]. Furthermore, Ag
+
Materials 2021, 14, 7681. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247681 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
