Mucosa-Like Conformal Hydrogel Coating for Aqueous Lubrication

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Surface Engineering
• Medical Device Technology

Background:

• Mucosa serves as a natural protective and lubricating biological barrier.
• Mimicking mucosal properties on complex surfaces presents significant challenges.
• Existing biomedical device surfaces often lack ideal biocompatibility and lubrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, mucosa-like conformal hydrogel coating for biomedical devices.
• To evaluate the coating's physical properties and performance in resisting biofouling.
• To assess the clinical efficacy of the coating in reducing endotracheal intubation complications.

Main Methods:

• Interface-initiated hydrogel polymerization to create a thin hydrogel layer on a polymer substrate.
• Characterization of coating properties including thickness, compliance, lubrication, and adhesion.
• Assessment of protein and bacterial adhesion resistance.
• In vivo testing on a cynomolgus monkey model and a clinical trial for endotracheal tubes.

Main Results:

• The hydrogel coating exhibited uniform thickness (≈15 µm), mucosa-matched compliance (1.1 ± 0.1 kPa), and excellent lubrication (friction coefficient = 0.018 ± 0.003).
• The coating demonstrated robust interfacial bonding (1218.0 ± 187.9 J m⁻²) and high water absorption.
• The coating effectively resisted protein and bacterial adhesion while maintaining biocompatibility.
• Clinical trials showed a significant reduction in intubation-related complications, including pain and inflammation.

Conclusions:

• A novel mucosa-like conformal hydrogel coating was successfully developed.
• The coating possesses superior physical and anti-biofouling properties, mimicking natural mucosa.
• Application on endotracheal tubes significantly improves patient outcomes by reducing complications.
• This technology holds great potential for clinical translation in biomedical device surface modification.