Transparent and Antifouling Lubrication Coating for Medical Applications Formed by a Self-Assembled Method.

Lubrication surfaces reduce the risk of cross-contamination and enhance the long-term stability of medical devices, which holds significance in the realm of antifouling medical materials. However, the complexity of constructing micronano structures to immobilize lubricating fluids and the fluorine content typically found in silane coupling agents restrict their widespread adoption. In this study, we prepared a biomimetic lubricating coating (BLC) through the one-step self-assembly of octadecyltrichlorosilane and oil infusion. The BLC exhibits pronounced repellency to liquids of different surface tensions while maintaining a high transparency. Mechanism exploration indicates that the low surface tension of the coating impedes the binding of fibrinogen to the substrate, thus preventing the adhesion of coagulated blood. To prove this concept, we applied the BLC to pipet tips and endoscope lenses to evaluate the coating's effectiveness. The results indicate that the coating shows significantly less residue, maintains clear visibility, and demonstrates excellent biocompatibility.