Antibacterial hydrogel coating: Strategies in surface chemistry

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Hydrogels offer a 3D structure ideal for accommodating antimicrobial agents.
• Coating substrates with antibacterial hydrogel layers is a key strategy against bacterial colonization.
• Preventing hydrogel coating delamination requires strong substrate-to-hydrogel linkages, such as covalent bonds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review major strategies for designing antibacterial coatings.
• To summarize chemical methods for securely attaching antibacterial hydrogel layers to substrates.
• To provide researchers with protocols for developing hydrogel-coated antibacterial surfaces.

Main Methods:

• Surface-initiated graft crosslinking polymerization.
• Anchoring hydrogel layers during surface crosslinking.
• Chemical crosslinking of layer-by-layer hydrogel coatings.
• Detailed documentation of reaction mechanisms and pretreatment strategies.

Main Results:

• Various surface chemical strategies exist for hydrogel coating application.
• Specific methods for covalent attachment of hydrogel layers are detailed.
• Understanding reaction mechanisms and pretreatment is crucial for successful coating.

Conclusions:

• Covalent bonding significantly enhances the durability and effectiveness of antibacterial hydrogel coatings.
• This review systematically documents methods for researchers designing hydrogel-coated antibacterial surfaces.
• The findings aim to facilitate the development of advanced antimicrobial materials.