In this study, the rising need for antimicrobial materials in additive manufacturing (AM) is addressed through the development of antibacterial nanocomposites based on acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), a polymer that has excellent resistance to weather conditions. An antibacterial blend in nanopowder form was added to ASA at concentrations ranging from 0 - 10 wt.% via a controlled blending process. This allowed the fabrication of nanocomposites by exploiting material extrusion 3D printing. The addition of nanopowders resulted in a moderate (∼15%) increase in the mechanical performance of the nanocompounds. When compared to neat ASA, the nanocomposites exhibited decreased porosity, while dimensional accuracy increased, resulting from improved interfacial bonding and homogeneous particle dispersion. The nanocomposites also exhibited biocidal activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (more enhanced in the latter), attributed to the inherent properties of the nanopowders. Thus, providing a long-term inhibition of bacterial growth on the surface of the printed parts. The improvement in mechanical, morphological, and antibacterial properties demonstrates that these new ASA-based nanocomposites have great potential in the field of biomedical applications, which require custom-made, durable, infection and weather-resistant components. This work demonstrates the potential for incorporating functional nanomaterials into AM processes and provides a scalable method to create 3D printed components with enhanced performance characteristics and biocidal properties.
Stratakis et al. (Fri,) studied this question.