Research context and placement

The lubricated biliary-stent coating targets adhesion, biofilm and immune fibrosis; the neutrophil pathway is an immune connection within the same host theme.

Biliary stent coatings and biofilms

Biliary stent dysfunction can involve attached material, biofilms, deposits and host foreign-body responses. ELFS changes the contact surface to a lubricated interface. Fouling and inflammation may interact, but reducing one is not identical to demonstrating a reduction in the other.

Approach and advances

The design combines polydopamine-based anchoring with a fluorinated lubricating interface to discourage direct attachment. Its purpose is to preserve a functional stent interface. It should not be recast as a bactericidal treatment or elimination of every foreign-body response.

Biliary-stent placement, time-dependent conventional/ELFS interface concepts, and mouse biofilm and rabbit patency evaluation schematics.
Figure 1 · Original paper figure

ELFS biliary-stent interface design, occlusion problems and preclinical evaluation layout.

Tae Young Kim, Won-Jong Lee, Yurim Lee et al.. “Slippery dopamine–fluoropolymer hybrid surface for improving biliary stent longevity”. Figure 1. DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.003. CC BY 4.0. Public original image copied byte-for-byte, with no resizing, cropping, annotations or re-encoding.

Source figure and caption ↗ · DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.003 ↗ · CC BY 4.0 ↗

Evaluation and conditions

Early immune dynamics were observed intradermally in dorsal skin, with a separate subcutaneous biocompatibility test. Mouse-gallbladder fragments assessed fouling, whereas rabbit common-bile-duct stents assessed patency. Four rabbits per group and these distinct anatomical settings cannot be pooled into a clinical patency rate.

Key findings

After six months in mouse gallbladders, ELFS fragments showed less bile sludge and biofilm-like accumulation than uncoated fragments. In the separate two-month rabbit common-bile-duct test, flow was blocked in uncoated stents but maintained through ELFS stents. These complementary observations remain distinct in anatomy, duration and endpoint.

Limits and open questions

Fluorine on retrieved stents may reflect the underlying PFP scaffold rather than retained lubricant. Lubricant depletion and persistent surface function must therefore be separated. Correction DOI 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.015 adds acknowledgements and states that conclusions are unaffected, rather than correcting experimental outcomes.

Related external research

A bioinspired omniphobic surface coating on medical devices prevents thrombosis and biofouling

DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3020 ↗

Relative to blood-contacting liquid coatings, ELFS examines bile ducts and immune–fibrotic pathways.

Thrombosis, biliary sludge and host fibrosis have distinct conditions and endpoints.

Abstract checked

Corresponding-author verification

Jungmok Seo: corresponding author

This record concerns Jungmok Seo’s correspondence designation. Author order or an asterisk alone is not treated as confirmation; this check is separate from verification of the research content.

  • Correspondence evidence source ↗

    Jungmok Seo → cor2; Corresponding author.

    front/article-meta/contrib-group and author-notes; name-to-corresp reference and email · public_repository_xml_read

Main-text review scope
Read DOI/title-matched public Europe PMC XML Abstract, §2.3, §2.5–2.7, §3, §4.18 and §4.20. Rechecked §2.5, §4.14 and §4.15 to separate intradermal immune imaging from subcutaneous biocompatibility. The funding-only correction was also read. Direct publisher-web full text remains distinct. Also read §2.2 directly for PDA–PFP anchoring and lubricant infusion.
Supplementary review scope
Supporting information was not comprehensively read. A main-text citation to supplementary results does not count as direct inspection of those results.
Pending verification
Public repository text was read. Cross-check the publisher version, supplements and lubricant-retention measurements in school Chrome. Correction DOI 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.015 adds omitted funding for #91; figure corrections concern other articles in that notice.

COVERAGE & OUTREACH

Coverage and outreach

Links are checked for their relationship to this paper. Media publication does not establish independent reporting or additional experimental validation.

  • Jungmok Seo · LinkedIn · 2026-10-03 · Researcher-authored post

    Device–tissue interfaces: prior studies, ELFS biliary stents and FLUID ureteral stents ↗

    The post describes the ELFS biliary-stent study in Bioactive Materials. DOI 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.003, documented as the destination of the in-body shortened link, matches the title and DOI of #91 in the public 101-paper catalogue.

    Body read Based on a verification record documenting the post body, “Worldwide” visibility and DOI destinations of six shortened links in a logged-in session. The publication date was determined from the “4 hours” display observed at 22:37 KST on 2026-10-03; the exact publication time remains unverified. DOI destinations were checked on LinkedIn’s external-link notice screens; this does not represent a new review of publisher full text. This is researcher-authored promotion, not independent reporting or additional experimental validation.

Channel coverage and search log for all 101 records →

Sources and verification scope

Read DOI/title-matched public Europe PMC XML Abstract, §2.3, §2.5–2.7, §3, §4.18 and §4.20. Rechecked §2.5, §4.14 and §4.15 to separate intradermal immune imaging from subcutaneous biocompatibility. The funding-only correction was also read. Direct publisher-web full text remains distinct. Also read §2.2 directly for PDA–PFP anchoring and lubricant infusion.

The additional commentary is editorially approved within the stated evidence scope. This does not imply complete verification of all main-text and supplementary material.

Additional main-text review scope
Read DOI/title-matched public Europe PMC XML Abstract, §2.3, §2.5–2.7, §3, §4.18 and §4.20. Rechecked §2.5, §4.14 and §4.15 to separate intradermal immune imaging from subcutaneous biocompatibility. The funding-only correction was also read. Direct publisher-web full text remains distinct. Also read §2.2 directly for PDA–PFP anchoring and lubricant infusion.
Additional supplementary review scope
Supporting information was not comprehensively read. A main-text citation to supplementary results does not count as direct inspection of those results.