Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface Functionalization
Abstract Fungal contaminations pose a persistent challenge in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, and industry, primarily due to their environmental adaptability and increasing resistance to antifungal agents. In this study Aspergillus niger is utilized as model organism. This work evaluates copp...
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| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Advanced Materials Interfaces |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202400852 |
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| author | Stella Marie Timofeev Katharina Siems Daniel Wyn Müller Aisha Saddiqa Ahmed Alessa Schiele Kristina Brix Carolin Luisa Krämer Franca Arndt Ralf Kautenburger Frank Mücklich Stefan Leuko |
| author_facet | Stella Marie Timofeev Katharina Siems Daniel Wyn Müller Aisha Saddiqa Ahmed Alessa Schiele Kristina Brix Carolin Luisa Krämer Franca Arndt Ralf Kautenburger Frank Mücklich Stefan Leuko |
| author_sort | Stella Marie Timofeev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Fungal contaminations pose a persistent challenge in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, and industry, primarily due to their environmental adaptability and increasing resistance to antifungal agents. In this study Aspergillus niger is utilized as model organism. This work evaluates copper, brass, and steel surfaces functionalized with ultrashort pulsed laser‐induced periodic surface structures (USP‐DLIP) designed as 3 and 9 µm topographies. Fungal spore viability assays show that 9 µm periodicities on copper surfaces achieve a 99% reduction in spore viability, indicating that increased copper ion release is a key factor in enhanced antifungal effectivity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis confirm substantial spore damage, linked to the viability testing and the measured copper ion release by inductively coupled plasma triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (ICP‐QQQ) spectrometry. Interestingly, 9 µm structured steel surfaces reveal a trend toward antifungal activity despite their inert nature. Whereas structured brass surfaces do not show significant improvement in antifungal activity. These findings suggest USP‐DLIP structuring on copper and stainless‐steel surfaces have considerable potential for antifungal applications, although interactions between surface structures, released ions, and fungal spores are highly complex. Yet, USP‐DLIP offers promising advantages for developing advanced antifungal materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-290bbe3be87f4639a1ae820196b6541b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2196-7350 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Materials Interfaces |
| spelling | doaj-art-290bbe3be87f4639a1ae820196b6541b2025-08-20T02:26:19ZengWiley-VCHAdvanced Materials Interfaces2196-73502025-05-011210n/an/a10.1002/admi.202400852Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface FunctionalizationStella Marie Timofeev0Katharina Siems1Daniel Wyn Müller2Aisha Saddiqa Ahmed3Alessa Schiele4Kristina Brix5Carolin Luisa Krämer6Franca Arndt7Ralf Kautenburger8Frank Mücklich9Stefan Leuko10AeroSpace Microbiology Research Group Radiation Biology Department Institute of Aerospace Medicine German Aerospace Center Linder Hoehe 51147 Cologne GermanyAeroSpace Microbiology Research Group Radiation Biology Department Institute of Aerospace Medicine German Aerospace Center Linder Hoehe 51147 Cologne GermanyChair of Functional Materials Department of Materials Science Saarland University Campus D3.3 66123 Saarbrücken GermanyChair of Functional Materials Department of Materials Science Saarland University Campus D3.3 66123 Saarbrücken GermanyAeroSpace Microbiology Research Group Radiation Biology Department Institute of Aerospace Medicine German Aerospace Center Linder Hoehe 51147 Cologne GermanyDepartment of Inorganic Solid‐State Chemistry Elemental Analysis Saarland University Campus C4.1 66123 Saarbrücken GermanyAeroSpace Microbiology Research Group Radiation Biology Department Institute of Aerospace Medicine German Aerospace Center Linder Hoehe 51147 Cologne GermanyAeroSpace Microbiology Research Group Radiation Biology Department Institute of Aerospace Medicine German Aerospace Center Linder Hoehe 51147 Cologne GermanyDepartment of Inorganic Solid‐State Chemistry Elemental Analysis Saarland University Campus C4.1 66123 Saarbrücken GermanyChair of Functional Materials Department of Materials Science Saarland University Campus D3.3 66123 Saarbrücken GermanyAeroSpace Microbiology Research Group Radiation Biology Department Institute of Aerospace Medicine German Aerospace Center Linder Hoehe 51147 Cologne GermanyAbstract Fungal contaminations pose a persistent challenge in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, and industry, primarily due to their environmental adaptability and increasing resistance to antifungal agents. In this study Aspergillus niger is utilized as model organism. This work evaluates copper, brass, and steel surfaces functionalized with ultrashort pulsed laser‐induced periodic surface structures (USP‐DLIP) designed as 3 and 9 µm topographies. Fungal spore viability assays show that 9 µm periodicities on copper surfaces achieve a 99% reduction in spore viability, indicating that increased copper ion release is a key factor in enhanced antifungal effectivity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis confirm substantial spore damage, linked to the viability testing and the measured copper ion release by inductively coupled plasma triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (ICP‐QQQ) spectrometry. Interestingly, 9 µm structured steel surfaces reveal a trend toward antifungal activity despite their inert nature. Whereas structured brass surfaces do not show significant improvement in antifungal activity. These findings suggest USP‐DLIP structuring on copper and stainless‐steel surfaces have considerable potential for antifungal applications, although interactions between surface structures, released ions, and fungal spores are highly complex. Yet, USP‐DLIP offers promising advantages for developing advanced antifungal materials.https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202400852antifungal surfacescopperfunctionalized surfacesspore resilience stress |
| spellingShingle | Stella Marie Timofeev Katharina Siems Daniel Wyn Müller Aisha Saddiqa Ahmed Alessa Schiele Kristina Brix Carolin Luisa Krämer Franca Arndt Ralf Kautenburger Frank Mücklich Stefan Leuko Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface Functionalization Advanced Materials Interfaces antifungal surfaces copper functionalized surfaces spore resilience stress |
| title | Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface Functionalization |
| title_full | Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface Functionalization |
| title_fullStr | Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface Functionalization |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface Functionalization |
| title_short | Stress Response of Aspergillus niger Spores to Copper Surfaces and the Implications for Antifungal Surface Functionalization |
| title_sort | stress response of aspergillus niger spores to copper surfaces and the implications for antifungal surface functionalization |
| topic | antifungal surfaces copper functionalized surfaces spore resilience stress |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202400852 |
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