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Abstract
Healthcare-acquired microbial infections are caused by bacterial pathogens present in medical contexts, resulting in increased healthcare costs and hospital-acquired morbidities. To solve the problem of microbial biofouling, surfaces that can passively resist bacterial adhesion have been investigated. Surfaces with unique wetting phenomena have been proposed to reduce general biofouling, but to date, mainly superhydrophobic surfaces, surfaces that prevent water adhesion, have been studied for their anti-biofouling properties. The goal of this research is to develop biomaterials with superhydrophilic, superhydrophobic, and superamphiphobic wetting states to study the anti-biofouling properties of these unique surfaces. This report details the successful fabrication, characterization, and in vitro studies performed on these novel materials.