Recent developments in electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of antibacterial coatings for biomedical applications- A review

Bacterial infections are one of the leading causes for long-term failure of medical implants, associated with hospitalization, costly revision surgeries, increased morbidity and even mortality. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) appears as a suitable coating technology to confer antibacterial efficacy to implant surfaces without changing the properties of the constituent (or base) material. Typical antibacterial coatings by EPD rely on bactericidal (release-killing, contact-killing and stimuli responsive-killing) and bacteriostatic (anti-adhesive) approaches. The current review paper presents novel strategies to prevent bacterial infections by means of EPD focusing on relevant published studies in the last two years and provides a critical reflection on future prospects of EPD-based biomedical coatings.

Automated summary

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is an effective coating technology that imparts antibacterial properties to medical implants without altering the material's properties. This review paper summarizes novel strategies using EPD to prevent bacterial infections, based on relevant studies from the past two years, and critically reflects on the future prospects of EPD-based biomedical coatings.