Novel ultrathin TiO2-Cu nanoparticulate films sputtered by highly ionized pulsed plasma magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) lead to faster bacterial inactivation compared to more traditional sputtering approaches with an appreciable metal saving. HIPIMS sputtering induces a strong interaction of the TiO2-Cu-ions (M+) with the polyester surface due to the high fraction and density of M+-ions interacting with the biased substrate.