Recent design approaches, adhesion mechanisms, and applications of antibacterial surfaces

Abstract

Adhesion of bacteria on surfaces and the resultant biofilm formation is a great risk to human health care services, food packaging and storage, and the marine industry. This has necessitated the need for the scientific community and industries to continually develop ways of fabricating surfaces that can prevent bacterial adhesion, kill adhered bacteria, and prevent/disrupt biofilm formation. Therefore, this review is focused on providing an up-to-date discussion on the recent strategies adopted by researchers in the design of antibacterial surfaces. It highlighted the different surface characterization techniques, discussed the mechanism of bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation, reviewed the recent method of fabricating antibacterial surfaces and their industrial applications, emphasized the advantages and drawbacks of these techniques, and proposed outlooks for future designs.