In Photo-Lab we developed an antimicrobial filament based on PLA. The “new” antimicrobial filament was used to print filters having different geometries tested for water sanitization.

A mixture of PLA pellets and silver oxide was used with the ‘filabot’ filament extruder. Filaments having different silver concentration were prepared and tested.

The 3D printing was fundamental to create filters (figure below) with a geometry that maximize the contact area. The printed objects cannot be obtained easily with conventional techniques. The water filters were designed with a parametric CAD (OpenSCAD).

The parametrization was helpful to ease the design of filters having different geometries (diameter of the external tube, number, disposition and diameter of the inner wires).

The filters were tested in the biology labs in the University of Pavia and they showed a good antimicrobial capacity (figure below).

Collaborations

Prof. Chiara Milanese (Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica, Università di Pavia)

Prof. Cinzia Calvio (Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologia, Università di Pavia)