Recent developments in functional organic polymer coatings for biomedical applications in implanted devices

Abstract

Organic polymer coatings have been commonly used in biomedical field, which play an important role in achieving biological antifouling, drug delivery, and bacteriostasis. With the continuous development of polymer science, organic polymer coatings can be designed with complex and advanced functions, which is conducive to the construction of biomedical materials with different performances. According to different physical and chemical properties of materials, biomedical organic polymer coating materials are classified into zwitterionic polymers, non-ionic polymers, and biomacromolecules. The strategies of combining coatings with substrates include physical adsorption, chemical grafting, and self-adhesion. Though the coating materials and construction methods are different, many biomedical polymer coatings have been developed to achieve excellent performances, i.e., enhanced lubrication, anti-inflammation, antifouling, antibacterial, drug release, anti-encrustation, anti-thrombosis, etc. Consequently, a large number of biomedical polymer coatings have been used in artificial lungs, ureteral stent, vascular flow diverter, and artificial joints. In this review, we summarize different types, properties, construction methods, biological functions, and clinical applications of biomedical organic polymer coatings, and prospect future direction for development of organic polymer coatings in biomedical field. It is anticipated that this review can be useful for the design and synthesis of functional organic polymer coatings with various biomedical purposes.