Figure 5.

Antibacterial activity of VA-CNTs against P. aeruginosa. (A) Cell recovery by CFU counting of P. aeruginosa cells after 30 min, 4 h, and 24 h of incubation on Si substrates modified or not with different CNTs. Bars represent the mean of three independent experiments. To assess statistical analysis, a one-way ANOVA analysis with the Bonferroni post-test was used; *** p < 0.001 with respect to untreated controls (UT); ns: not significant. The experiment was performed in triplicate for each treatment. SEM micrograph of (B) P. aeruginosa bacteria incubated on Si substrates without carbon nanostructures in comparison with cells treated with (C) as-grown, (D) O₂-, and (E) Ar/O₂-plasma-etched VA-CNTs. Scale bar: 200 nm.