Anti-biofouling assembly strategies for protein & cell repellent surfaces: a mini-review

The protein/cell interactions with the surface at the blood-biomaterial interface generally control the efficiency of biomedical devices. A wide range of active processes and slow kinetics occur simultaneously with many biomaterials in healthcare applications, leading to multiple biological reactions and reduced clinical functions. In this work, we present a brief review of studies as the interface between proteins and biomaterials. These include mechanisms of resistance to proteins, protein-rejecting polyelectrolyte multilayers, and coatings of hydrophilic, polysaccharide and phospholipid nature. The mechanisms required to attain surfaces that resist adhesion include steric exclusion, water-related effects, and volume effects. Also, approaches in the use of hydrophilic, highly hydrated, and electrically neutral coatings have demonstrated a good ability to decrease cell adhesion. Moreover, amongst the available methods, the approach of layer-by-layer deposition has been known as an interesting process to manipulate protein and cell adhesion behavior.