Abstract

This work is about the fabrication of composite thin films of nanoporous silicon/green synthesized silver nanoparticles and their potential use as antibacterial surfaces. To obtain the composite layers, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using leaf extracts of P. boldus, and subsequently integrated on nanoporous silicon matrix. The achieved samples were characterized microscopically (TEM and AFM), and physiochemically (UV–vis spectroscopy, LIBS, and XRD). Moreover, the antibacterial activity of the composite layers was studied using different strains of Gram-positive (S. aureus and S. epidermidis) and Gram-negative (K. pneumoniae, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa) bacteria. The experimental results showed the potential of these composite thin films as antibacterial surfaces for biomedical applications.