eprintid: 10187576 rev_number: 7 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/18/75/76 datestamp: 2024-02-22 09:58:28 lastmod: 2024-02-22 09:58:28 status_changed: 2024-02-22 09:58:28 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Pirouz, Arash creators_name: Papakonstantinou, Ioannis creators_name: Michalska, Martyna title: Antimicrobial mechanisms of nanopatterned surfaces—a developing story ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C05 divisions: F46 divisions: F45 keywords: Bioinspired, biomimetic, biofouling, antimicrobial mechanisms, mechanobactericidal surfaces, nanopatterns, driving force note: Copyright © 2024 Pirouz, Papakonstantinou and Michalska. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. abstract: Whilst it is now well recognized that some natural surfaces such as seemingly fragile insect wings possess extraordinary antimicrobial properties, a quest to engineer similar nanopatterned surfaces (NPSs) is ongoing. The stake is high as biofouling impacts critical infrastructure leading to massive social and economic burden with an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) issue at the forefront. AMR is one of the most imminent health challenges the world is facing today. Here, in the effort to find more sustainable solutions, the NPSs are proposed as highly promising technology as their antimicrobial activity arises from the topographical features, which could be realized on multiple material surfaces. To fully exploit these potentials however, it is crucial to mechanistically understand the underlying killing pathways. Thus far, several mechanisms have been proposed, yet they all have one thing in common. The antimicrobial process is initiated with bacteria contacting nanopatterns, which then imposes mechanical stress onto bacterial cell wall. Hence, the activity is called “mechano-bactericidal”. From this point on, however, the suggested mechanisms start to diverge partly due to our limited understanding of force interactions at the interface. The aim of this mini review is to analyze the state-of-the-art in proposed killing mechanisms by categorizing them based on the characteristics of their driving force. We also highlight the current gaps and possible future directions in investigating the mechanisms, particularly by shifting towards quantification of forces at play and more elaborated biochemical assays, which can aid validating the current hypotheses. date: 2024 date_type: published publisher: Frontiers Media SA official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1354755 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2247455 doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1354755 medium: Electronic-eCollection pii: 1354755 lyricists_name: Papakonstantinou, Ioannis lyricists_name: Michalska, Martyna lyricists_id: IPAPA54 lyricists_id: MMICH02 actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette actors_id: BFFLY94 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Frontiers in Chemistry volume: 12 article_number: 1354755 event_location: Switzerland issn: 2296-2646 citation: Pirouz, Arash; Papakonstantinou, Ioannis; Michalska, Martyna; (2024) Antimicrobial mechanisms of nanopatterned surfaces—a developing story. Frontiers in Chemistry , 12 , Article 1354755. 10.3389/fchem.2024.1354755 <https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1354755>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10187576/1/fchem-12-1354755.pdf