Electro-thermal antimicrobial carbon surface

Microorganisms on the surface are important contributors to produce a serious threat to global public health. These microorganisms are associated with hospital acquired infections (HAIs), resulting in high mortality rates worldwide. The U.S Center for Diseases Control and Prevention reported that about one in 25 U.S hospital patients is being diagnosed related to HAIs. 60-70% of these HAIs are related to bacterial surface contamination of hospital or medical devices. In addition, after COVID-19 outbreaks, antimicrobial surfaces become more important as the possibility of infectious virus transmission by fomites confirmed. Previous studies reports that virus remain infectious on surfaces such as plastic for 6 days and human skin for 4 days. 1 That triggered a tremendous effort to sanitize everything surfaces from the handle to the subway. 2 The microbial inactivation method using heat treatment has been used as a safe, effective, and environment-friendly method that do not use and generate harmful ozone or ions. Herein, we introduce an electro-thermal antimicrobial technology that completely kill microorganism on surface. The electro-thermal antimicrobial performance results from thermal energy generated by current flowing on a conductive carbon fiber surface. This work presents a new approach for rapid inactivation of microorganisms on the surface, which is attractive for low-cost, harmless, and energy-efficient sterilization applications.