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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

An Injectable and Drug-loaded Supramolecular Hydrogel for Local Catheter Injection into the Pig Heart
Published on: June 7, 2015
Hierarchical inverse opal hydrogel coatings for superhydrophobic, antibacterial, and drug-responsive catheter
Yuegao Liu1, Yijun Hou1, Kaihong Fei2
1Department of Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Introduction:
Catheter-related infections and biofouling remain critical challenges in clinical practice due to limited surface functionalities and rapid bacterial biofilm formation.
Methods:
We developed a universal bottom-up strategy to fabricate hierarchical inverse opal hydrogel coatings on medical catheters via dopamine-mediated substrate activation, dual-layer colloidal assembly, and polymer infiltration, followed by oil infusion to enable adaptive wettability and low-friction liquid mobility.
Results:
The coatings exhibited stress-responsive wetting transitions, structural-color-enabled visual monitoring of degradation, and tunable droplet adhesion by modulating pore geometry. In vitro tests showed 98.9% antibacterial efficiency against E. coli, together with excellent hemocompatibility, cytocompatibility, and in vivo biosafety.
Discussion:
By integrating passive antifouling, controlled drug release, and real-time structural feedback in a single interface, this platform provides a robust route toward infection-resistant and intelligent catheter devices.
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