Matrices for sustained release of drugs have been based on polymers, biomaterials and oxides. The use of the major family of metals as matrices for sustained release is, to the best of our knowledge, unknown. In this context we describe a new family of bio-composites for sustained release of drugs, namely analgesic drugs entrapped within metallic silver. Synthetic methodologies were developed for the preparation of ibuprofen@Ag, naproxen@Ag, tramadol@Ag and bupivacaine@Ag composites. Detailed kinetic analysis of the release of the drugs from within the metal, is provided, demonstrating that metals can indeed serve as reservoirs for drug release. The metal in our case acts not only as a drug releasing source, but also as an antibacterial agent and this property of the composites was studied. Unexpectedly, it was found that the entrapment of the analgesics within silver, dramatically enhances the growth inhibition activity of wild type Pseudomonas aeruginosa, exceeding by far the inhibition activity of the separate components. A mechanism for this interesting observation is provided. The strong antimicrobial activity combined with the analgesic activity open the road for future applications of these materials as dual-purpose components in wound treatment.

Entrapment of chlorhexidine within antibacterial copper leads to the formation of a metal composite, whose bactericidal activity exceeds that of silver and that of its individual components. Since the cost of copper is by far lower than that of silver, high volume applications become more accessible.

An ultra‐high increase in the WF of silver, from 4.26 to 7.42 eV, that is, an increase of up to circa 3.1 eV is reported. This is the highest WF increase on record for metals and is supported by recent computational studies which predict the potential ability to affect an increase of the WF of metals by more than 4 eV. We achieved the ultra‐high increase by a new approach: Rather than using the common method of 2D adsorption of polar molecules layers on the metal surface, WF modifying components, l‐cysteine and Zn(OH)2, were incorporated within the metal, resulting in a 3D architecture. Detailed material characterization by a large array of analytical methods was carried out, the combination of which points to a WF enhancement mechanism which is based on directly affecting the charge transfer ability of the metal separately by cysteine and hydrolyzed zinc(II), and synergistically by the combination of the two through the known Zn‐cysteine finger redox trap effect.

The emergence of global antibiotic resistance necessitates the urgent need to develop new and effective antimicrobial agents. Combination of two antimicrobial agents can potentially improve antimicrobial potency and mitigate the development of resistance. Therefore, we have utilized metal molecular doping methodology whereby antimicrobial random peptides mixture (RPMs) are entrapped in a bactericidal copper metal matrix. The copper/RPM composite exhibits greater antimicrobial activity toward methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than either copper or RPMs alone. Our findings indicate that this bactericidal antimicrobial biomaterial could be utilized to efficiently eradicate antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria for health, agricultural and environmental applications.