Tectonics

Polymerization

Engineering

Polymer chemistry

Biology

Materials science

Coating

Layer (electronics)

Subduction

Chemical engineering

Substrate (aquarium)

Geology

Oceanography

Paleontology

Polymer

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Self-healing hydrogels

Surface modification

Composite material

Chemistry

Covalent bond

Delamination (geology)

Advances in Colloid and Interface Science

Hydrogels have emerged as promising antimicrobial materials due to their unique three-dimensional structure, which provides sufficient capacity to accommodate various materials, including small molecules, polymers and particles. Coating substrates with antibacterial hydrogel layers has been recognized as an effective strategy to combat bacterial colonization. To prevent possible delamination of hydrogel coatings from substrates, it is crucial to attach hydrogel layers via stronger links, such as covalent bonds. To date, various surface chemical strategies have been developed to introduce hydrogel coatings on different substrates. In this review, we first give a brief introduction of the major strategies for designing antibacterial coatings. Then, we summarize the chemical methods used to fix the antibacterial hydrogel layer on the substrate, which include surface-initiated graft crosslinking polymerization, anchoring the hydrogel layer on the surface during crosslinking, and chemical crosslinking of layer-by-layer coating. The reaction mechanisms of each method and matched pretreatment strategies are systemically documented with the aim of introducing available protocols to researchers in related fields for designing hydrogel-coated antibacterial surfaces.

Antibacterial hydrogel coating: Strategies in surface chemistry