Presenters Name: Dr Amir Behashti
Employment Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Organisation: University of Wollongong
Biography: Dr Amir Beheshti is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Science, University of Wollongong, working within the Steel Research Hub in collaboration with BlueScope Steel. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Queensland in 2021, where he investigated polymer brush-grafted colloids as lubricant additives. His current research focuses on the properties of coatings and nanomaterials, combining principles of colloid and interface
Presentation Title: Bio-Based Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coatings with Antibacterial Activity
Presentation Abstract: Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) assembled via layer-by-layer (LbL)deposition offer a versatile platform to engineer thin-film antimicrobial coatings with tunable structure, chemistry, and drug-release functionality. In this work, we report the fabrication, characterization, and crosslinking of PEMs composed of naturally derived, oppositely charged polysaccharides, with an active antimicrobial agent incorporated during LbL assembly. Real-time monitoring using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) revealed well-defined layer growth and provided insights into the evolving viscoelasticity of the films, demonstrating their structural responsiveness to environmental conditions. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirmed uniform nanoscale morphology and quantified film thickness, while high-resolution AFM phase imaging showed substantial increases in stiffness following in situ crosslinking, indicating enhanced mechanical integrity and robustness of the coatings. Overall, these results demonstrate the feasibility of polysaccharide-based PEMs as functional antimicrobial surface coatings capable of encapsulating and stabilizing therapeutic agents. Current work focuses on quantifying drug release, evaluating biofilm inhibition, and assessing long-term stability to establish structure-function relationships relevant to biomedical and anti-infective surface applications.
