Bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance remain significant contributors to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite recent advances in biomedical research, a substantial number of medical devices and implants continue to be plagued by bacterial colonisation, resulting in severe consequences, including fatalities. The development of nanostructured surfaces with mechano-bactericidal properties has emerged as a promising solution to this problem. These surfaces employ a mechanical rupturing mechanism to lyse bacterial cells, effectively halting subsequent biofilm formation on various materials and, ultimately, thwarting bacterial infections.
Polymer | Characteristics, Physical, and Mechanical Properties | Biomedical Applications |
Advantages | Limitations | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PGA | Biodegradable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 890 MPa, density: 1.5 g/cm3, melting point: 225–230 °C, glass transition temperature: 35–40 °C | Tissue engineering applications in bone, tendon, cartilage, tooth, and spinal regeneration; nerve grafts; absorbable sutures | Stimulates cartilage regeneration; 3D-printability; high tensile strength | High friction coefficient and “binds and snags” when wet, high brittleness, high degradation causes inflammatory response | [26,27,58,26][27]59,[58]60][[59][60] |
PLGA | Biodegradable, bioadsorbable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 3.4 MPa, density: 1.2 g/cm3, melting point: dependent on the percent composition (PLA, PGA), glass transition temperature: 40–60 °C | Therapeutic tools; drug delivery; tissue engineering | Stimulates osteoblasts; 3D-printability | Release of acidic byproducts leads to inflammation, degrade due to hydrolysis, poor strength | [26,[28,29,2630,61]][28][29][30][61] |
PCL | Biodegradable, bioadsorbable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 12.8 MPa, density: 1.15 g/cm3, melting point: 60 °C, glass transition temperature: −60 °C | Dental splints; drug delivery; tissue engineering | Stimulates osteoblasts; 3D printable; slow degradation rate; low cost in 3D printing due to low melting point; high biocompatibility | Poor mechanical properties; low cell adhesion | [26,31,62][26][31][62] |
PU | Can be biodegradable or non-biodegradable based on chemical composition, non-bioabsorbable, biocompatible, tensile strength: 34.5–56 MPa, density: 1.23 g/cm3, melting point: 163 °C, glass transition temperature: −35 °C | Drug delivery; catheters, pacemaker leads insulation, vascular prostheses, heart valves, cardiac assist devices (cardiovascular applications) | High durability; high toughness; good biostability; low cost | Environmental stress cracking; material degradation in vivo; metal ion oxidation | [16,63,64,65][16][63][64][65] |
PP | Non-biodegradable, non-bioabsorbable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 28 MPa, density: 0.9 g/cm3, melting point: 170 °C, glass transition temperature: −25 °C | Sutures; scaffolds (ligament or tendon repair); meshes for hernia and pelvic organ repair; heart valve structure, oxygenator and plasmapheresis membranes, finger joint prosthesis |
High melting point; less toxic; low cost | Limited biocompatibility; poor strength | [16,33,66,67,68][16][33][66][67][68] |
PVA | Biodegradable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 40–90 MPa, density: 1.26 g/cm3, melting point: 228 °C, glass transition temperature: 85 °C | Wound dressings, drug delivery, targeted-tissue transportation systems; soft biomaterial implants. | High chemical and thermal stability; non-toxic | Weak hydrogel endurance in high temperature; relatively weak polymer; limited biocompatibility; degrades due to hydrolysis | [34,69,70,71,72][34][69][70][71][72] |
Silicone or PDMS | Non-absorbable, non-biodegradable, biocompatible, hydrophobic, tensile stress: 2–10 MPa, density: 0.97 g/cm3, melting point: 228 °C glass transition temperature: ~120–123 °C |
Oxygenator membrane; tubing; shunts; prostheses; heart peacemaker leads; heart valve structures; burn dressing | Chemically inert; low toxicity; thermal stability; high biocompatibility | Prone to damage; non-durable; contamination of monomers; low mechanical strength | [16,47,63][16][47][63] |
PLA | Biodegradable, bioabsorbable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 21–60 MPa, density: 1.21–1.25 g/cm3, melting point: 150–160 °C, glass transition temperature: 60–65 °C | Bone tissue engineering; drug delivery; plates, screws, pins, and wires in bone fixation; bio-absorbable implants; sutures in dermatology; drug-eluting stents | High biocompatibility; stimulates osteoblasts; less brittle; one of the highly used 3D-printable materials; degradation products are also non-toxic to humans and the environment. | Low mechanical strength | [26,33,39,40,66,67,73][26][33][39][40][66][67][73] |
PMMA | Non-degradable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 48–76 MPa, density: 1.2 g/cm3, melting point: 130–180 °C, glass transition temperature: 80 °C | Dental implants; bone cement; lenses; drug delivery | One of the hardest thermoplastics with high scratch resistance; high mechanical strength | Less biocompatibility; high curing temperature; does not support osteointegration; causes necrosis effect | [16,74,75][16][74][75] |
PEEK | Non-degradable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 84 MPa, density: 1.4 g/cm3, melting point: 343 °C, glass transition temperature: 143 °C | Dental implants; knee implants; spine implants; cranioplasticity; hip replacement; anterior plate fixation; heart valves; face reconstructions | High biocompatibility; 3D-printable; light weight; compatible with hydroxyapatite (natural bone tissue materials) hence substitute to metallic implants; stable at high temperatures; mechanical stability | Low thermoformability; bioinert (does not promote tissue integration); complex and costly manufacturing process | [76,77,78][76][77][78] |
PEKK | Non-degradable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 115 MPa, density: 1.3 g/cm3, melting point: 363–386 °C, glass transition temperature: 162 °C | Dental implants; crown and bridge in dentistry; endodontic post; removable denture framework; restorative and prosthetic applications | High biocompatibility; 3D-printable; light weight; high mechanical strength; excellent chemical resistance | Bioinert (does not promote tissue integration); more complex and costly manufacturing process than PEEK | [52,79][52][79] |
PET | Non-degradable, high biocompatibility, tensile stress: 75–100 MPa, density:1.38 g/cm3, melting point: 255–265 °C, glass transition temperature: 85 °C | Sutures; heart valves; surgical meshes; scaffolds; urinary and bloodstream catheters; commercial vascular prosthesis | 3D-printable; cost effective; excellent chemical resistance | Bioinert (does not promote tissue integration) | [80,81,82][80][81][82] |
PTFE | Non-degradable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 30.5 MPa, density: 2.175 g/cm3, melting point: 327 °C, glass transition temperature: 127 °C | Vascular graft prostheses; heart patches; stapes prosthesis | High mechanical strength; chemically inert | Difficult to 3D-print | [16,83][16][83] |
Chitosan | Biodegradable, biocompatible, tensile stress: 32.2 MPa, density: 0.20–0.38 g/cm3, melting point:105 °C, glass transition temperature: 75 °C | Antitumor drug delivery; protein and peptide drug delivery; gene delivery; antibiotic delivery; polyphenol delivery; wound healing applications | Antimicrobial; anti-inflammatory; antifungal; nontoxicity; antitumor activity; antioxidant activity | Low mechanical strength; significant variations of properties based on the source of material | [84,85,86,87,88,89,90][84][85][86][87][88][89][90] |