Ultra-Low Fouling Coatings for Antimicrobial Biomaterials

Antimicrobial coatings are a promising route to prevent healthcare-acquired microbial infections caused by bacterial pathogens in medical contexts.¹ To solve the problem of microbial biofouling, surfaces that can passively resist bacterial adhesion have been investigated. Surfaces with unique wetting phenomena have been proposed to reduce general biofouling, but to date, mainly superhydrophobic surfaces, surfaces that prevent water adhesion, have been studied for their anti-biofouling properties.² Superamphiphobic surfaces, surfaces that prevent water and oil adhesion, should theoretically demonstrate superior antimicrobial activity, but fabrication challenges have hampered biocompatibility studies.³ A novel superamphiphobic coating will be presented that can be coated to various substrates and is non-cytotoxic. Moreover, the superamphiphobic coatings exhibit a significant reduction in the bacterial adhesion of Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli.