Nano and micro-structured surfaces for industrial and biomedical applications

Hydrophobic coating on metallic surfaces can extend their applications from industry to biomedical fields. Surface roughness and free energy play important role in achieving such applications. In the present project, surfaces with hierarchical structures (nano & macro) are planned to prepare by e-printing method using different molds followed by polishing and mounting. These substrates will then be treated with a low surface energy material. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) will be used to characterize the surface. The roughness, solid area fraction, pitch and slope of the patterned surfaces will be calculated from profilometer images. These surfaces then will be tested for the applications in self-cleaning (contact angle measurement), anti-infective surfaces (study of bacterial growth) etc.