Enhanced anti-biofilm and anti-protein adsorption properties of liquid-infused silver-polytetrafluoroethylene coatings

In this work, a slippery liquid-infused silver-polytetrafluoroethylene (AgFP) coating was fabricated via a spon-taneous polycondensation of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTES) onto an electroless AgF sublayer. The AgFP coating demonstrated great stability and superior repellence against liquids with a wide range of surface tensions. The anti-biofouling properties were investigated by adsorption of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, fibrinogen, and bovine serum albumin. Owing to the self-cleaning property, the AgFP demonstrated enhanced anti-adhesion activity against both bacteria and proteins relative to traditional elec-troless coatings, despite the fibrinogen deposition significantly promoting bacterial binding. While its ultra-low surface energy was not within the optimum surface energy region for minimum bacterial or protein adhesion, the AgFP coating still displayed excellent anti-biofilm capability in a protein-bacteria co-deposition model, reducing over 80% of BSA-supplemented biomass coverage on Ag surfaces and over 60% of Fgn-supplemented biomass coverage on AgF surfaces, respectively. To understand the anti-adhesion mechanism, the XDLVO model was used to explain the adhesion behaviour of both bacteria and proteins. Cytotoxicity assays confirmed that the AgFP coating had good biocompatibility with fibroblast cells. The results from this research provide attractive pros-pects for the application of the AgFP coating in biomedical devices to combat infections.

Automated summary

In this study, a slippery liquid-infused silver-polytetrafluoroethylene (AgFP) coating was developed through a polycondensation process of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTES) onto an electroless AgF sublayer. The AgFP coating exhibited high stability and excellent repellence against liquids with various surface tensions. The anti-biofouling properties of the coating were evaluated using different substances such as bacteria and proteins, and it showed enhanced anti-adhesion activity compared to traditional electroless coatings. The results suggest the potential application of the AgFP coating in biomedical devices to prevent infections.