Surface design strategies of polymeric biomedical implants for antibacterial properties

Abstract

Medical implants play an essential role in individuals' health and quality of life to replace, support, or enhance a biological structure in bodies. The selection of materials, considering their properties, is critical for implants depending on their application areas. There is a wide range of polymers used in biomedical implants, where the materials' flexibility and transport capability are needed. Since bacterial adhesion on polymeric surfaces leads to serious infectious diseases and deterioration of the implants, the development of rational surface design strategies is of great importance. Herein, we highlight synthetic, non-biodegradable polymer-based biomedical implants and the recent strategies to create antibacterial surfaces. Different types of polymer-based implants with their uses are summarized, along with their inherent antibacterial properties and additional surface modification strategies. Finally, we discuss the challenges of the current approaches and future perspectives to enhance antibacterial performance and obtain multimodal functionality of polymer-based medical implants.