A Review on Antimicrobial Coatings for Biomaterial Implants and Medical Devices

Biomaterial implants and medical devices have been utilized extensively in medical treatment with the development of modern medicine, especially in orthopaedics and stomatology. Along with their applications, biomaterial-associated infections (BAIs) have grown to be one of the main postoperative complications. Antimicrobial coating strategies have been reported to effectively inhibit bacterial adhesion and proliferation on implant surface, extending their lifespan. In this review, the most topical antimicrobial coating designs have been chosen from literature studies. Their antimicrobial mechanisms and antimicrobial activity assessments in literature studies have been presented and compared. Based on their active ingredients, antimicrobial coatings are categories into (i) inorganic agents, including Ag, Cu, ZnO, MoS₂ and nitride compound; (ii) organic agents including antibiotic, antimicrobial peptides, polymer, essential oils etc. The review has provided various and detailed options of antimicrobial coating designs for consulting according to their specific application. It is noted that the research of antimicrobial coatings is mostly in vitro and in vivo animal models study. It is thus in need for more preclinical or clinical studies, especially finding the direct connection between the utilization of antimicrobial coated implants and the reduction in BAIs incidence. Furthermore, future antimicrobial coating designs shall respect also biocompatibility, functionality, and durability apart from their antimicrobial activity.