The development of new technologies is key to the continued improvement of medicine, relying on comprehensive materials design strategies that can integrate advanced therapeutic and diagnostic functions with a variety of surface properties such as selective adhesion, dynamic responsiveness, and optical/mechanical tunability. Liquid‐infused surfaces have recently come to the forefront as a unique approach to surface coatings that can resist adhesion of a wide range of contaminants on medical devices. Furthermore, these surfaces are proving highly versatile in enabling the integration of established medical surface treatments alongside the antifouling capabilities, such as drug release or biomolecule organization. Here, the range of research being conducted on liquid‐infused surfaces for medical applications is presented, from an understanding of the basics behind the interactions of physiological fluids, microbes, and mammalian cells with liquid layers to current applications of these materials in point‐of‐care diagnostics, medical tubing, instruments, implants, and tissue engineering. Throughout this exploration, the design parameters of liquid‐infused surfaces and how they can be adapted and tuned to particular applications are discussed, while identifying how the range of controllable factors offered by liquid‐infused surfaces can be used to enable completely new and dynamic approaches to materials and devices for human health.
Biocompatible and nanoscale devices for biological modulation of cells and tissues possess the potential for tremendous impact on medical and industrial technologies. Typical medical devices and therapies tend to be macroscale, comprised of nonbiocompatible materials, and broadly targeted, resulting in imprecise treatments and adverse effects such as chronic immune response and tissue damage. The development of nanoenabled and biocompatible technologies—ranging from biodegradable nanoparticles for localized drug delivery to transient electronic devices for stimulation therapy to engineered biofilms with applications to nanomedicine—will continue to enable the advent of personalized medicine and precision therapies. In this review, recent research into this frontier is reviewed, first analyzing the synthesis of nanoenabled and biocompatible technologies and then presenting significant considerations regarding the development of such materials. Lastly, the latest advancements in biocompatible, nanoenabled devices are examined, followed by a discussion of the direction of future research in the field.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10367353
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials Technologies
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2365-709X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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