Towards bioinspired superhydrophobic poly(L-lactic acid) surfaces using phase inversion-based methods

The water repellency and self-cleaning ability of many biological surfaces has inspired many fundamental and practical studies related to the development of synthetic superhydrophobic surfaces. However, the investigation of such substrates made of biodegradable polymers has been scarce. Simple approaches based on a single step, performed at room temperature (and pressure), were implemented to obtain superhydrophobic poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) surfaces via phase inversion-based methods, without addition of low-surface-energy compounds. Water contact angles above 150 degrees were obtained using some processing conditions. In such cases scanning electronic microscopy micrographs of such surfaces revealed a clear rough texture composed by leafy clusters with micro-nano binary structures. Such materials could be used in specific environmental and biomedical applications, namely in implantable materials or in antibacterial or antithrombogenic surfaces.