Harnessing Extreme Wettability: Combatting Spread of Bacterial Infections in Healthcare

The use of materials with extreme wettability discussed in this brief review may become one of the most promising strategies to combat the spreading of bacterial infections through touch surfaces not only in medical facilities but also in public areas, including educational institutions, supermarkets, fitness centers, etc. The extreme wettability coatings have both a nonspecific bactericidal effect against various types of bacteria, and a number of more specific mechanisms that work against certain strains depending on the type of metal. At the same time, such coatings are effective against various ways of spreading the bacterial cells, be it through the deposition of an aerosol created when patients cough or sneeze, or through contact transfer by patients’ hands. In this review, we briefly summarize the existing strategies for producing materials with extreme wettability by aqueous media and overview their main characteristics. Then the mechanisms behind the bactericidal effect of these materials are discussed in detail jointly with the analysis of some examples of testing the antibacterial efficiency of extreme wettability surfaces.