Recent advances in antimicrobial surfaces via tunable molecular interactions: Nanoarchitectonics and bioengineering applications

Infections can lead to severe health issues, even death. Surfaces, such as those of biomedical devices, implants, textiles, tables and doorknobs, play a crucial role as carriers for pathogens to migrate, attach and proliferate. Implementing surfaces with antimicrobial properties offers a reliable and long-lasting approach to combat surface transmission of germs, minimize microbial colonization, and reduce infections. In this review, we present recent advancements in antimicrobial surfaces, categorized into four groups based on their action mechanisms: antifouling, bactericidal, antifouling and bactericidal, and dynamic or stimuli-responsive surfaces. The work highlights the fabrication processes and properties of each category, along with discussing their structure-performance relationships. Special attention is given to various anchoring strategies involving tunable molecular interactions. The review also introduces relevant biomedical applications.