There were a total of 7 work packages (WP) in HePulse project. The fellow received health and safety training, performed COSHH assessments, and gained instrument specific training for deposition and testing of Ag/DLC coatings in WP1. The WP2 contained modification and deposition of Ag/DLC coatings using sputtering systems made by Teer Coating Ltd UK and Moorefield Nanotechnology, UK. WP3 corresponds to the mechanical testing using a nanoindentation platform and WP4 covers biocompatibility and antimicrobial studies against L929 mouse fibroblast cells and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain. The WP5 is related to professional development workshops, trainings, industrial linkage, teaching and mentoring students, proposal writing, and secondment and WP 6 covers knowledge transfer and dissemination of project outcomes through journal publications, conferences, seminars etc. The WP7 covers continuous monitoring and review of project progress.
The new Ag/DLC coatings were made with sputtering and precise shutter control to embed Ag particles and correspondingly tested with TEM, FESEM, EDX, XRD, nanoindentation, absorbance, cell viability, and counting bacterial colonies. A series of typical Ag/DLC was made with doping of 17, 40 and 65 at.% Ag in DLC matrix for comparative study. The new Ag/DLC design made in this project suggests that a small amount of Ag i.e. ~ 2 at.% releases a similar amount of Ag ions as released by typically made Ag/DLC design with 17 at.% Ag concentration. Further, the new Ag/DLC coating using 2at.% Ag is 63% harder, 21% more biocompatible, and shows adequate antimicrobial features when compared to typically deposited 17 at.% Ag/DLC coatings. The project outcomes are disseminated through journal articles (1) Soft diamond-like carbon coatings with superior biocompatibility for medical applications, Ceramics International – published (2) Biomechanical Characteristics of Silver Enriched Diamond-like Carbon Coatings for Medical Applications, Journal of Alloys and Compounds – Revision submitted JALCOM-D-22-17359R1 (3) A New Design of Precision Silver Doped Diamond-Like Carbon Coating with Superior Bio-Mechanical Performance – submitted CARBON-S-23-01114, and (4) Multi-functional bioactive diamond-like carbon coatings for medical implants, Biomaterials – submitted jbmt63755. The project work is also disseminated through presentations at Northumbria University and international conferences (1) The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers Annual Meeting 2022 - ICC JEJU, Jeju, Republic of Korea and (2) International Conference on Advances in Design, Materials and Manufacturing Technologies 2022, Hong Kong. The project data is available with Open Access and DOI identifiers at Northumbria University institutional repository powered by Figshare.
The fellow has received FOSTER EU Open Science, Advance HE Gender and Research Design trainings, attended CPD events by IET, IMechE, Surface Venture, and European Researchers Night, wrote outline proposals, mentored PhD students, performed teaching and learning activities, learned TEM and FIB experimentation during secondments at Durham University, networked with industrial partners such as IHI IONBOND AG, Switzerland, Teer Coating UK, Moorfiled Nanotechnology, UK and achieved FHEA teaching recognition.
