Patent ID: 8309117

Claim:
A method for preparing a medical device having a silver nano-particle-containing antimicrobial LbL coating thereon, comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining a medical device with a polyelectrolyte LbL coating thereon, wherein the polyelectrolyte LbL coating includes one or more bilayers of a negatively charged polyionic material having —COOH groups and a positively charged polyionic material; (b) immersing the medical device having the polyelectrolyte LbL coating in a solution containing silver ions for a period of time sufficient to replace a desired amount of H + with silver ions; and (c) autoclaving the medical device of step (b) to reduce the silver ions contained in the polyelectrolyte LbL coating to form silver nano-particles wherein the medical device having the silver nano-particle-containing antimicrobial LbL coating exhibits at least 50% inhibition of viable microorganisms.