Recent Advances in Superhydrophobic and Antibacterial Coatings for Biomedical Materials

In recent years, biomedical materials have been used in the response to the emergence of medical infections that pose a serious threat to the health and life of patients. The construction of superhydrophobic coatings and antimicrobial coatings is among the most effective strategies to address this type of medical derived infection. Firstly, this paper reviews the preparation methods of superhydrophobic surface coatings and their applications; summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of superhydrophobic surface preparation schemes based on the template method, spraying methods, etching methods, and their respective improvement measures; and focuses on the applications of superhydrophobic surfaces in self-cleaning and antibacterial coatings. Then, the action mechanisms of contact antibacterial coatings, anti-adhesion bacteriostatic coatings, anti-adhesion bactericidal coatings, and intelligent antibacterial coatings are introduced, and their respective characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages are summarized. The application potential of antimicrobial coatings in the field of biomedical materials is highlighted. Finally, the applications of superhydrophobic and antimicrobial coatings in medical devices are discussed in detail, the reasons for their current difficulties in commercial application are analyzed, and the future directions of superhydrophobic coatings and antimicrobial coatings are considered.