Inspired by animals with a slippery epidermis, durable slippery antibiofouling coatings with liquid-like wetting buckled surfaces are successfully constructed in this study by combining dynamic-interfacial-release-induced buckling with self-assembled silicon-containing diblock copolymer (diBCP). The core diBCP material is polystyrene-block-poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PS-b-PDMS). Because silicon-containing polymers with intrinsic characters of low surface energy, they easily flow over and cover a surface after it has undergone controlled thermal treatment, generating a slippery wetting layer on which can eliminate polar interactions with biomolecules. Additionally, microbuckled patterns result in curved surfaces, which offer fewer points at which organisms can attach to the surface. Different from traditional slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces, the proposed liquid-like PDMS wetting layer, chemically bonded with PS, is stable and slippery but does not flow away. PS-b-PDMS diBCPs with various PDMS volume fractions are studied to compare the influence of PDMS segment length on antibiofouling performance. The surface characteristics of the diBCPs─ease of processing, transparency, and antibiofouling, anti-icing, and self-cleaning abilities─are examined under various conditions. Being able to fabricate ecofriendly silicon-based lubricant layers without needing to use fluorinated compounds and costly material precursors is an advantage in industrial practice.

In recent decades, extensive research has been directed toward mitigating microbial contamination and preventing biofilm formation. However, many conventional antibiofilm methods rely on hazardous and toxic substances, neglecting potential risks to human health and the environment. Moreover, these approaches often rely on single-strategy mechanisms, utilizing either bactericidal or fouling-resistant agents, which have shown limited efficacy in long-term biofilm suppression. In this study, we propose an efficient and sustainable biofilm-resistant slippery hybrid slippery composite. This composite integrates nontoxic and environmentally friendly materials including chitosan, silicone oil-infused polydimethylsiloxane, and mesoporous silica nanoparticles in a synergistic manner. Leveraging the bacteria-killing properties of chitosan and the antifouling capabilities of the silicone oil layer, the hybrid composite exhibits robust antibiofilm performance against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, the inclusion of mesoporous silica nanoparticles enhances the oil absorption capacity and self-replenishing properties, ensuring exceptional biofilm inhibition even under harsh conditions such as exposure to high shear flow and prolonged incubation (7 days). This approach offers promising prospects for developing effective biofilm-resistant materials with a reduced environmental impact and improved long-term performance.

Despite the significant progress in fundamental research in the physics of atmospheric icing or the revolutionary changes in modern materials and coatings achieved due to the recent development of nanotechnology and synthetic chemistry, the problem of reliable protection against atmospheric icing remains a hot topic of surface science. In this paper, we present a brief analysis of the mechanisms of anti-icing behavior that attracted the greatest interest of the scientific community and approaches which realize these mechanisms. We also note the strengths and weaknesses of such approaches and discuss future studies and prospects for the practical application of developed coatings.

Further exploration is needed for sustainable and precise droplet manipulation on intelligent surfaces, especially the problem of SLIPS failure caused by lubricant loss. In this work, a self-mediating photothermal lubrication surface was designed. Through a simple preparation method, it was possible to generate a new lubrication layer through near-infrared light (NIL) and perform sustainable and precise droplet manipulation even after the surface lubricant was consumed. The thermal expansion film obtained from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and nano ferric oxide, combined with the connected structure obtained through laser etching technology, effectively preserve lubricating oil. After the surface lubricating oil is consumed, under the action of NIL, the lubricating oil inside the film is squeezed out, forming a new lubricating layer. At the same time, programmable droplet transport can be achieved by inducing the direction of NIL. After turning off NIL, the lubricating oil is absorbed into the network structure, achieving good circulation. This not only reduces the loss of lubricating oil, but also facilitates the manipulation of droplets. In addition, the movement (plane and antigravity) and splitting behavior of droplets are also discussed. This sustainable and precise manipulation of liquid droplets on the LSSPF (lubricant self-mediating slippery PDMS films) surface can be widely applied in various micro reaction devices.

OBJECTIVE: Slippery Omniphobic Covalently Attached Liquids (SOCAL) have been proposed for making omnirepellent thin films of self-assembled dimethylsiloxane polymer brushes grafted from silica surfaces. Smooth and flat at very small scale, these fluid surfaces could exhibit a more complex multiscale structure though showing very weak contact angle hysteresis (less than 5°).
METHODS: In this work, coatings were deposited on glass surfaces from an acidic dimethoxydimethylsilane solution under carefully controlled relative humidity. Ellipsometry mapping was used to analyze the surface structuration with nanometric thickness sensitivity. The sliding properties were determined using a drop shape analyzer with a tilting device, and chemical analyses of the coatings were performed using on-surface techniques (XPS, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy).
RESULTS: Coated materials possessed an unexpected surface structure with multiscale semispherical-like features, which surprisingly, did not increase the contact angle hysteresis. A careful study of some parameters of the coating process and the related evolution of the surface properties allowed us to propose a new model of the chemical organization of the polymer to support this remarkable liquid-like behavior. These structures are made of end-grafted strongly adsorbed Guiselin brushes with humidity-dependent thickness: the higher the humidity, the thinner and the more slippery the coating.

Slippery surfaces are sought after due to their wide range of applications in self-cleaning, drag reduction, fouling-resistance, enhanced condensation, biomedical implants etc. Recently, non-textured, all-solid, slippery surfaces have gained significant attention because of their advantages over super-repellent surfaces and lubricant-infused surfaces. Currently, almost all non-textured, all-solid, slippery surfaces are hydrophobic. In this work, we elucidate the systematic design of non-textured, all-solid, slippery hydrophilic (SLIC) surfaces by covalently grafting polyethylene glycol (PEG) brushes to smooth substrates. Furthermore, we postulate a plateau in slipperiness above a critical grafting density, which occurs when the tethered brush size is equal to the inter-tether distance. Our SLIC surfaces demonstrate exceptional performance in condensation and fouling-resistance compared to non-slippery hydrophilic surfaces and slippery hydrophobic surfaces. Based on these results, SLIC surfaces constitute an emerging class of surfaces with the potential to benefit multiple technological landscapes ranging from thermofluidics to biofluidics.

We report the design of slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) fabricated from building blocks that are biodegradable, edible, or generally regarded to be biocompatible. Our approach involves infusion of lubricating oils, including food oils, into nanofiber-based mats fabricated by electrospinning or blow spinning of poly(ε-caprolactone), a hydrophobic biodegradable polymer used widely in medical implants and drug delivery devices. This approach leads to durable and biodegradable SLIPS that prevent fouling by liquids and other materials, including microbial pathogens, on objects of arbitrary shape, size, and topography. This degradable polymer approach also provides practical means to design \"controlled-release\" SLIPS that release molecular cargo at rates that can be manipulated by the properties of the infused oils (e.g., viscosity or chemical structure). Together, our results provide new designs and introduce useful properties and behaviors to antifouling SLIPS, address important issues related to biocompatibility and environmental persistence, and thus advance new potential applications, including the use of slippery materials for food packaging, industrial and marine coatings, and biomedical implants.

Polymer coatings with comprehensive properties including passive radiative cooling, anti-fouling, and self-healing constitute a promising energy-saving strategy but have not been well documented yet. Herein, we reported a class of novel multifunctional supramolecular polysiloxane composite coatings showing the combination of these features. The coatings have a hybrid structure with a slippery liquid-infused porous surface and a gradient polymer-Al2O3 composite matrix constructed by reversible hydrogen bonding. The gradient matrix consists of a polymer-rich top and a particle-rich bottom favoring coating attachment on rigid substrates. Such a complex structure can be obtained by simply casting the suspending solutions of the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-urea copolymer and Al2O3 on substrates followed by swelling silicone oil. Obtained coatings display good passive daytime radiative cooling (a temperature drop of ∼2 °C), self-healing ability, and anti-fouling properties. Since the comprehensive performances and the facile fabrication, the coatings should have application potential for various thermal management purposes.

Addressing thrombosis and biofouling of indwelling medical devices within healthcare institutions is an ongoing problem. In this work, two types of ultra-low fouling surfaces (i.e., superhydrophobic and lubricant-infused slippery surfaces) were fabricated to enhance the biocompatibility of commercial medical grade silicone rubber (SR) tubes that are widely used in clinical care. The superhydrophobic (SH) coatings on the tubing substrates were successfully created by dip-coating in superhydrophobic paints consisting of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), perfluorosilane-coated hydrophobic zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper (Cu) nanoparticles (NPs) in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The SH surfaces were converted to lubricant-infused slippery (LIS) surfaces through the infusion of silicone oil. The anti-biofouling properties of the coatings were investigated by adsorption of platelets, whole blood coagulation, and biofilm formation in vitro. The results revealed that the LIS tubes possess superior resistance to clot formation and platelet adhesion than uncoated and SH tubes. In addition, bacterial adhesion was investigated over 7 days in a drip-flow bioreactor, where the SH-ZnO-Cu tube and its slippery counterpart significantly reduced bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation of Escherichia coli relative to control tubes (>5 log10 and >3 log10 reduction, respectively). The coatings also demonstrated good compatibility with fibroblast cells. Therefore, the proposed coatings may find potential applications in high-efficiency on-demand prevention of biofilm and thrombosis formation on medical devices to improve their biocompatibility and reduce the risk of complications from medical devices.

We report a layer-by-layer suction-and-flow approach that enables the fabrication of polymer-based \"slippery\" liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) in the confined luminal spaces of flexible, narrow-bore tubing. These SLIPS-coated tubes can prevent or strongly reduce surface fouling after prolonged contact, storage, or flow of a broad range of complex fluids and viscoelastic materials, including many that are relevant in the contexts of medical devices (e.g., blood and urine), food processing (beverages and fluids), and other commercial and industrial applications. The robust and mechanically compliant nature of the nanoporous coating used to host the lubricating oil phase allows these coated tubes to be bent, flexed, and coiled repeatedly without affecting their inherent slippery and antifouling behaviors. Our results also show that SLIPS-coated tubes can prevent the formation of bacterial biofilms after prolonged and repeated flow-based exposure to the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus and that the anti-biofouling properties of these coated tubes can be further improved or prolonged by coupling this approach with strategies that permit the sustained release of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents. The suction-and-flow approach used here enables the application of slippery coatings in the confined luminal spaces of narrow-bore tubing that are difficult to access using several other methods for the fabrication of liquid-infused coatings and can be applied to tubing of arbitrary length and diameter. We anticipate that the materials and approaches reported here will prove useful for reducing or preventing biofouling, process fouling, and the clogging or occlusion of tubing in a wide range of consumer, industrial, and healthcare-oriented applications.