Fig. 5

Antibacterial and antibiofilm activities exerted by Ag (left) and Zn (right) coatings against the four bacterial pathogens E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and E. faecalis. The CBD icon on the very left represents the type of analysis corresponding to each panel, with the coating in red and the measured bacterial planktonic cells/biofilm in green. The results are reported as the mean of the percentage of bacterial and biofilm inhibition ± standard deviation. The triangles below each histogram indicate the increasing concentration of each metal tested (from low (L), through medium (M), to high (H)). Statistical analysis was performed using one-way Anova test. Differences were considered significant compared to control (bacterial growth w/o coating) for p < 0.05 (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001). A Inhibition of the bacterial planktonic growth. B Inhibition of bacterial biofilm formation on the coated well. C Inhibition of the bacterial biofilm formation on the non-coated peg. The absorbance values (OD₅₉₅) of crystal violet (CV) associated with the amount of biofilm on wells and pegs without metal coating (the control experiment) are reported in Table S1