Amt Holdings, Inc.

Applied Membrane Technology, Inc.

Stephen P Conover

Ashok K Sharma

An anti-microbial metal coating may be applied to filter membranes for use in actively depressing microbial viability in filtration applications. The anti-microbial metal coating may be applied to substrates that are considered to be sensitive to damage by conventional metal coating techniques or resistant to metal bonding. The coating may be applied from a salt absorbed to the substrate in solution, converted to a reducible form with a conversion agent, and reduced to active metal format through a low temperature plasma treatment.

Anti-microbial metal coatings for filters

A method for depositing metals, metal blends and alloys onto substrate surfaces, including microporous substrates utilizing a plasma operation undertaken at room temperature. In the process, a liquid solution of a monomer or comonomer precursor having a metallic component is utilized to wet the surface of the substrate, with the solvent portion thereafter being removed to leave the substrate surface coated with a dry deposit. The coated substrate is then introduced into a plasma reaction chamber with RF energy being applied across spaced electrodes to create a plasma glow along with the introduction of a plasma supporting gas. The substrate is exposed to the plasma glow for conversion of the precursor to dissociated form to create a deposit consisting essentially of the metallic component in elemental form as a cohesive film on the substrate surface. Preferred metals include such noble metals as platinum, gold and silver, as well as other metals. Preferred precursors include platinum hexafluoro-acetylacetonate, (trimethyl) methylcyclopentadienyl platinum, dimethyl(acetylacetonate) gold, and trimethyl phosphine (hexafluoroacetyl acetonate) silver.

Process for preparing metal coatings from liquid solutions utilizing cold plasma

A method for preparing thin films of noble metals upon porous substrate surfaces including utilizing plasma polymerization wherein the noble metals are derived from a monomer or comonomer precursor of the noble metal and with the precursor being disposed within a plasma glow zone to convert the precursor to its dissociated form, thereby allowing the substrate to receive a deposit of a substantially continuous noble metal film thereon. A wide variety of noble metals and their alloys may be treated in this fashion, including such noble metals as platinum, ruthenium, gold and certain alloys thereof.

Preparation of metal coatings

A laminate formed by the solvent casting of a two phase siloxane-polyarylene polyether block copolymer onto a suitable microporous substrate such as a microporous polypropylene film, to produce a gas permeable and blood compatible membrane having sufficient mechanical strength for use in blood oxygenators and gas separation devices. For use in blood oxygenators, implantable biomedical devices, blood sampling, analysis or purification devices and artificial membrane lungs for cancer therapy or lung disease therapy, the two phase block copolymers such as polysufone-polydimethylsiloxane block copolymer preferrably have molecular weights in the ratio 5,000/5,000 M.sub.n 's with a 45% volume fraction as polysulfone, or at least 50% volume fraction represented as siloxane. For use in gas separation devices, the molecular weights of the polysulfone-polydimethylsiloxane blocks may be varied from 1,500 to 100,000 or greater M.sub.n 's with 10 to 90% by weight siloxane, and from 90 to 10% by weight polysulfone, with a tensile modulus less than 100,000 psi and tensile elongation of at least 100%.

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Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Stephen P Conover