A Biomimetic Interfacial Strategy of UV-Curable Bio-Based Amphiphobic Coatings for Antifouling and Antibacterial Protection.
TL;DR
This work demonstrates a sustainable, bioinspired pathway toward high-performance protective coatings for marine and biomedical applications and introduces hydrogen-bonding interactions and positive zeta potential, stabilizing the interface and enabling broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.
Abstract
Surface protection is critical for advanced systems such as marine equipment and medical implants, where fouling and microbial deposition cause irreversible degradation. However, developing protective coatings that integrate multifunctionality (e.g., amphiphobicity and antifouling), environmental compatibility, and durability remains challenging. Inspired by beetle cuticle architecture, a bioinspired spontaneous interfacial reconfiguration strategy was introduced to construct a multifunctional coating that synergizes low-surface-energy enrichment with bioactive molecular interactions. Following this strategy, a bio-based amphiphobic and antibacterial coating (PCGBF@GT) was fabricated via a rapid, environmentally benign UV-curing process (within 5 min). Spontaneous migration of fluorinated segments in the castor oil-derived resin provides robust amphiphobicity and fouling resistance. Meanwhile, the incorporation of glycidyl methacrylate-modified tannic acid (GT) introduces hydrogen-bonding interactions and positive zeta potential, stabilizing the interface and enabling broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (99.92 ± 0.90%) and Staphylococcus aureus (99.83 ± 0.06%). This work demonstrates a sustainable, bioinspired pathway toward high-performance protective coatings for marine and biomedical applications.