Strategies on designing multifunctional surfaces to prevent biofilm formation

Bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation have raised severe problems on public health, food industry and many other areas. A variety of reagents and surface coatings have been developed to kill bacteria and/or limit their interaction with surfaces. It has also attracted many efforts to integrate different bactericidal elements together and maximize antibacterial efficiency. Herein, we review mechanisms for both passive and active approaches to resist and kill bacteria respectively, and discuss integrated strategies based on these two approaches. We also offer perspective on future research direction.