Metal-organic framework (MOF)-based slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) for purely physical antibacterial applications

Medical device-associated infections, caused by bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, remain a leading threat to public healthcare due to continuous emergence of drug-resistant pathogens. Slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) is deemed as a promising mean to reduce colonization of bacteria by exceptional repellency property. However, such inert and mono-functional surface becomes helpless once bacterial adhesion occurs. Here, we report a zeolitic imidazolate framework-L (ZIF-L)-based SLIPS (ZLS) with both anti-biofouling and bactericidal activity that all performances are derived from purely physical interactions. Assembled on various substrates, the porous ZIF-L layer is not only the foundation for constructing SLIPS, but exhibits the mechanical bactericidal activity. Fabricating on the catheters, the ZLS exhibit good biocompatibility and can be utilized in a mice subcutaneous implanted model of infection in vivo without inducing the inflammatory response. Thus, we anticipate that the ZLS could provide a new insight into multifunctional and bactericide-free antibacterial surface modifications.