Conductive Electrochemically Active Lubricant‐Infused Nanostructured Surfaces Attenuate Coagulation and Enable Friction‐Less Droplet Manipulation

Abstract

Micro/nanostructured materials and lubricant‐infused surfaces, both inspired from structures found in nature, are ideally suited for developing self‐cleaning and high surface area transducers for biosensing. These two classes of bio‐inspired technologies are integrated to develop lubricant‐infused electrodes designed to reduce biofouling. Chemical vapor deposition is used to create self‐assembled monolayers of fluorosilane on gold‐modified prestrained polystyrene substrates. After heat shrinking of the substrate, a lubricant is applied to produce a lubricant‐infused nanostructured gold wrinkled surface with hydrophobic properties. These electrically conductive surfaces demonstrate high water contact (≈150°) and low sliding angles (<5°). Moreover, combining these surfaces with passive magnetic actuators enables the actuation of super‐paramagnetic microdroplets in frictionless and open channel conditions without needing full droplet submersion in an immiscible fluid. The fabricated nanostructured surfaces resist protein adhesion in a human plasma coagulation assay and significantly prolong clotting times and retain electrical conductivity, which is essential for electrical sensing applications. The developed hybrid interfaces are expected to have a wide range of applications in biosensing and biological sample preparation involving complex clinical and environmental samples.

Antimicrobial Nanomaterials and Coatings: Current Mechanisms and Future Perspectives to Control the Spread of Viruses Including SARS-CoV-2

“… 116 In addition to this, combining the chemical modifications, micro- and/or nanostructures with an infused liquid layer, mimics the effect of the pitcher plant, 117 , 118 thus creating a class of surfaces called lubricant-infused surfaces. These surfaces have displayed superior performance in suppressing blood contamination and clotting, 119 − 124 while also preventing the growth and attachment of bacteria and their biofilms. 5 , 125 − 127 Figure 6 a shows the growth of planktonic bacteria biofilm after 21 days of incubation on dissolved oxygen-permeable membranes with and without a lubricant-infused coating.…”

Biofunctionalization of Glass‐ and Paper‐Based Microfluidic Devices: A Review

“…In both techniques, the head groups (methoxy and ethoxy groups) of the silane molecules undergo hydrolysis reactions leading to chemisorption of the silane coupling agent onto the substrate and formation of oxane bonds . As the hydrolysis and condensation reactions continue, a crystalline or semi‐crystalline self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) of silane is formed on the surface through the lateral siloxane (Si–O–Si) polymerization, as well as interactions between the backbones caused by nonbonded reactions including electrostatic, van der Waals, steric, and repulsive forces . The two models stated for creation of SAM layers include continuous growth model, whereby the disordered layer gradually converts to a crystalline SAM.…”

Antibody Micropatterned Lubricant‐Infused Biosensors Enable Sub‐Picogram Immunofluorescence Detection of Interleukin 6 in Human Whole Plasma

“…[8][9][10] The level of expression in plasma typically reflects severity of the disease, their nonwetting properties to different fluids. [36][37][38][39] This property is caused by a slippery or low surface tension interface between a monolayer of lubricant, locked into a porous or rough surface and the biofluid or immiscible liquid to be repelled. [40] The omniphobic LIS technology has been employed for antibacterial applications, as well as medical implants and devices where thrombosis and infections could pose a threat; [41][42][43][44] however, they have not been implemented as blocking agents for biosensing and we hypothesize that the superior repellency offered by such slippery surfaces may prove to decrease LOD for IL-6 detection in complex fluids.…”