i+Med has just published a paper on antibacterial coatings to prevent implant-associated infections based on different chitosan-based hydrogel (CHI) coatings on the Ti6Al4V surface using genipin (Ti-CHIGP) and polyethylene glycol (Ti-CHIPEG) crosslinking agents.
Researchers have recently focused their attention on new bifunctional or multifunctional antibacterial coatings, in which two or more antibacterial mechanisms interact synergistically. The hydrogel coatings demonstrated exceptional in vivo biocompatibility as well as a remarkable ability to promote cell proliferation and differentiation and to function excellently as bacterial repellent (17-28% of S. aureus and 33-43% of E. coli repelled) and contact kill (186-222% of S. aureus and 72-83% of E. coli damaged) ability.
Such bifunctional antibacterial activity could be further enhanced by controlled drug release resulting in potent multifunctional antibacterial coatings.