Jiang, R;
Hao, L;
Song, L;
Tian, L;
Fan, Y;
Zhao, J;
Liu, C;
... Ren, L; + view all
(2020)
Lotus-leaf-inspired hierarchical structured surface with non-fouling and mechanical bactericidal performances.
Chemical Engineering Journal
, 398
, Article 125609. 10.1016/j.cej.2020.125609.
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Abstract
Antibiotics, a power tool to combat pathogenic bacterial infection, have experienced their inability to kill drug-resistant bacteria due to the development of antibiotic resistance. As an alternative, nanostructured, mechanical bactericidal surfaces may hold promise in killing bacteria without triggering antimicrobial resistance; however, accumulation of dead bacteria would greatly reduce their antimicrobial activity. In this study, for the first time we report a surprising discovery that the lotus leaf, well known for its superhydrophobicity, has demonstrated not only strong repelling effect against bacteria but also bactericidal activity via a cell-rupturing mechanism. Inspired by this unexpected finding, we subsequently designed and prepared a hierarchically structured surface, comprising microscale cylinders with superimposed nanoneedles on top, which was rendered superhydrophobic (water contact angle: 174°; roll-off angle: <1°) upon surface perfluorination. The hierarchically structured surface has displayed remarkable synergistic antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli: while the majority of the bacteria (>99%) were repelled from the surface (non-fouling), those tenacious bacteria that managed to be in touch of the surface were physically killed completely. Compared to a conventional superhydrophobic surface (non-fouling to some extent, but no bacteria-killing) or a mechanical bactericidal surface (bacteria-killing but not bacteria-repelling), our new structured surface has the great advantage in maintaining long-term effectiveness in antimicrobial activity. We envisage that this study will help develop long-term effective antimicrobial strategies based entirely on physical bactericidal mechanism (thus, avoiding risks of triggering antimicrobial resistance).
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Lotus-leaf-inspired hierarchical structured surface with non-fouling and mechanical bactericidal performances |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cej.2020.125609 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.125609 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | synergistic antibacterial, mechanical bactericidal, long-term antimicrobial, biomimetic hierarchical structures, lotus leaf surface |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci > Department of Ortho and MSK Science |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10099454 |
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