Device–host response interface. Classification centers on limiting unwanted biological responses while preserving useful tissue interaction.
Proteins, bacteria and tissue can interact with medical-device and biomaterial surfaces in different ways. This theme examines materials designed to reduce unwanted attachment, friction or inflammation while supporting useful biological interactions. Summaries distinguish laboratory models, animal studies and clinical evidence.
Research on reducing nonspecific attachment and friction at device surfaces while retaining the intended biological contact.
Ureteral friction, adhesion and encrustation: the FLUID study examines a microporous TPU interface that stores silicone oil. Distinguish initial bacterial adhesion at 72 hours from bacterial recovery in a 14-day mature-biofilm model, and read the four- and eight-week porcine implantation results as separate preclinical evidence.
Antifouling surfaces and biliary stent occlusion: the ELFS study examines a lubricated dopamine–fluoropolymer interface. Fouling in mouse gallbladders and patency in rabbit bile ducts were evaluated in different models, with fluid environments and endpoints that also differ from ureteral stent studies.
Antifouling, lubricious endoscope lenses: the LIDENS study evaluates visibility under blood droplets and condensation in laboratory tests. Read the results alongside residual small droplets and the need to replenish lubricant after sterilization.
Materials Today Bio, 39, 103405 (2026)
FLUID maintains a lubricated interface using silicone oil stored in a porous ureteral-stent wall. Initial bacterial adhesion fell by over 94% at 72 hours, while bacterial recovery in a 14-day mature-biofilm model fell by about 21% or 28%, depending on the comparator stent.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 18(25), 34821-34834 (2026)
A single-use endoscope cap with a PDMS brush and silicone oil interface; one sponge refresh restored visual clarity from 84.3 ± 4.8% to 98.9 ± 1.2%.
Bioactive Materials, 61, 210 - 228 (2026)
ELFS, a polydopamine-anchored lubricant-infused stent coating, kept rabbit bile duct stents open for 2 months while uncoated stents became fully occluded.
ACS Environmental Au, 6(1), 125-133 (2026)
A graphene oxide and perfluoropolyether coating on PVDF kept salt rejection above 99.7% at 15.4 LMH flux for 24 h of distillation with 0.4 mM surfactant.
Advanced Materials Interfaces, 12(14), e00353 (2025)
A 10 s two-step perfluoropolyether dip coating gave 12 materials a ~110° contact angle, cut friction from 0.22 to 0.08 and reduced B. cereus attachment by 91.2%.
Advanced Functional Materials, 34(14), 2312740 (2024)
A lubricant-infused V4D4/fluoropolymer coating stayed crack-free after 2000 cycles at 150% strain and reduced foreign body reaction around hydrogels in mice.
Bioactive Materials, 25, 555-568 (2023)
Polydopamine-anchored, lubricant-swollen fluoropolymer coating for complex devices; with it, 34 G bioprinting nozzles avoided the drop to 72 ± 5.15% viability.
Scientific Reports, 10, 17454 (2020)
Femtosecond-laser nanostructures engraved into an endoscope lens and filled with lubricant kept over 80% of the view clear after repeated dipping in blood.
Approaches to studying and modulating inflammatory and immune responses to materials and devices.
Burns & Trauma, 14, tkag055 (2026)
A review of bioadhesive hydrogels as immunomodulatory interfaces for chronic wounds, grouped into protective, bioactive, stimuli-responsive and sensing designs.
Advanced Functional Materials, 36(67), e77191 (2026)
An oxygen-releasing, hMSC-laden bioink printed into diabetic mouse wounds by a vision-guided robot accelerated wound closure relative to Tegaderm.
Advanced Healthcare Materials, 15(12), e04939 (2026)
A spray-printed PVA/liquid-metal patch delivered screened stimulation to diabetic mouse wounds, leaving 23.4% wound area at day 3 versus 66.8% untreated.
ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 4(4), 1449-1468 (2022)
A review of materials that keep wearable and implantable bioelectronics working long term, organized by physical, biological and interfacial compatibility.
Advanced Science, 8(15), 2100231 (2021)
A lubricated, anti-biofouling coating on silicon neural probes cut insertion impulse by 86% and extended neural recording in mice from 8 to 16 weeks.
Science Advances, 6 (44), eabb0025 (2020)
A lubricant-infused stainless-steel implant coating prevented infection in all six rabbits given MRSA-preincubated fixation implants, versus six of six bare.
Biochip Journal, 14(1), 48-62 (2020)
A review of strategies against the foreign body response to implants: soft and flexible materials, biocompatible coatings, drug delivery and slippery surfaces.
An extended grouping for functional interactions between materials or devices and biological targets. Papers with a weak direct connection to host responses retain an ambiguity flag.
The TAB neural-recording interface: lubricant and BDNF combines reduced nonspecific attachment with support for neural interactions. Distinguish the representative single-unit recording shown at 12 months in mice from the eight-month window available for electrode-level comparisons.
Materials Today Bio, 38, 103299 (2026)
Review of piezoelectric antibacterial platforms driven by multiple energy inputs and AI, covering mechanisms, material design, applications and reporting gaps.
Science Advances, 11(37), eadz1228 (2025)
TAB combines a lubricated interface with immobilized BDNF to reduce nonspecific attachment and support neuronal interactions. Representative single-unit recordings in mice extend to 12 months; electrode-level statistical comparisons cover a separate 8-month period.
Small, 20(43), 2402431 (2024)
A lubricant-coated PDMS organ chip recovered 94.9% of dopamine and 98.6% of levodopa in cell-free tests, versus 83.2% and 89.6% in a conventional PDMS chip.
Advanced Materials, 33(47), 2005930 (2021)
A review of electronic drugs grouped by site and duration of action: ingestible and patch devices, bioresorbable implants and long-term implants.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 11(23), 20615-20627 (2019)
Crosslinking hyaluronic acid in carbon nanotube microfibers limited creep and enzyme degradation; a braided six-fiber bundle gave a stable 0.05% strain in DPBS.
Advanced Materials, 28 (34), 7365-7374 (2016)
A triboelectric stimulator raised nonviral conversion of mouse fibroblasts into neuronal cells from 6.41% to 14.17% and in skin from 0.04% to 5.86%.
A provisional grouping for foundational materials or processes that may connect to this theme. It does not establish theme fit; each paper retains a rationale and ambiguity flag.
Chemical Engineering Journal, 482, 149043 (2024)
Titanium coating pairing immobilized BMP-2 with a lubricant layer; in rabbit femurs it resisted MRSA and gave ~45 N nail pull-out force versus ~5 N for LOIS.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 11 (5), 5484-5491 (2019)
Mushroom-shaped PDMS micropillars whose cap edges curl down after 50 nm Al deposition repel liquids down to 14.8 mN/m without any fluorinated coating.
Coatings, 8 (2), 47 (2018)
Review of pattern transfer, nanoparticle assembly and thiol-ene routes to flexible, transparent superamphiphobic surfaces, with wetting and optical data.
Nano Today, 15, 91-106 (2017)
Review tracing inorganic, polymeric and lipid-based drug delivery nanomaterials to FDA approval, noting over 200 nanomaterial products then in clinical studies.
Materials, 9(2), 116 (2016)
A review of bio-inspired extreme wetting surfaces, from lotus-type to slippery designs, and their use in cell patterning, spheroid culture, devices and assays.
Chemistry of Materials, 27 (14), 4964-4971 (2015)
Hydrogen-induced expansion of Pd on Ag dendrites switched superamphiphobic adhesion reversibly; a 7 μL hexadecane drop held upside down with 31.8 μN in 8% H2.
Advanced Materials, 25 (30), 4139-4144 (2013)
Hydrogen-induced expansion of Pd on DTS-coated silicon nanowires switched droplets from rolling off to pinned; air restored roll-off within 3 s, over 50 cycles.
Thin Solid Films, 527, 179-185 (2013)
Cyclic rapid thermal annealing in oxygen made silicon nanowire arrays superhydrophobic yet water-adhesive (CA 154.3°); air storage restored superhydrophilicity.