Biomimicking integrates peristome surface of Nepenthes alata onto biliary stents tips

Biliary stents (BS) play an important role in the field of modern interventional therapy. However, the surface of BS is easy to cause microbial attachment, which causes serious postoperative infections and threatens the life safety of patients. Here, inspired by the microstructures of Nepenthes alata's peristome surface and Morpho menelaus, we presented an excellent slippery surface for BS tips by employing inverse opal colloidal crystals hydrogels. The inverse opal structure not only imparts a tunable structural color to the slippery surface but provides sufficient room for liquid absorption, such as lubricants and drugs. The slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) endow the slippery surface with anti-adhesion and antibacterial properties. Due to the good temperature sensitivity of hydrogels, we can control the drug release by changing the temperature. In particular, the drug release process can be monitored through visually structural color variations. Furthermore, we also proposed a mechanism of droplet infiltration on SLIPS under the heating which is expected to be used for the smart transport of droplets. The multifunctional SLIPS BS tips also exhibit good generalization, we believe it will bring more possibilities for biliary stents.

Automated summary

In this study, a slippery surface was prepared using inverse opal colloidal crystals hydrogels, inspired by the microstructures of Nepenthes alata's peristome surface and Morpho menelaus, for biliary stents (BS) tips, which showed anti-adhesion and antibacterial properties. The drug release from the slippery surface could be controlled by changing the temperature, and the process could be monitored visually through structural color variations. Furthermore, a mechanism of droplet infiltration on the slippery surfaces under heating was proposed, which could be used for smart droplet transport. These multifunctional slippery BS tips exhibited good generalization and could bring more possibilities for biliary stents.