Development of Antibacterial and Antifouling Innovative and Eco-Sustainable Sol–Gel Based Materials: From Marine Areas Protection to Healthcare Applications

Abstract

Bacterial colonization of surfaces is the leading cause of deterioration and contaminations. Fouling and bacterial settlement led to damaged coatings, allowing microorganisms to fracture and reach the inner section. Therefore, effective treatment of surface damaged material is helpful to detach bio-settlement from the surface and prevent deterioration. Moreover, surface coatings can withdraw biofouling and bacterial colonization due to inherent biomaterial characteristics, such as superhydrophobicity, avoiding bacterial resistance. Fouling was a past problem, yet its untargeted toxicity led to critical environmental concerns, and its use became forbidden. As a response, research shifted focus approaching a biocompatible alternative such as exciting developments in antifouling and antibacterial solutions and assessing their antifouling and antibacterial performance and practical feasibility. This review introduces state-of-the-art antifouling and antibacterial materials and solutions for several applications. In particular, this paper focuses on antibacterial and antifouling agents for concrete and cultural heritage conservation, antifouling sol–gel-based coatings for filtration membrane technology, and marine protection and textile materials for biomedicine. In addition, this review discusses the innovative synthesis technologies of antibacterial and antifouling solutions and the consequent socio-economic implications. The synthesis and the related physico-chemical characteristics of each solution are discussed. In addition, several characterization techniques and different parameters that influence the surface finishing coatings deposition were also described.

Functional Nanohybrids and Nanocomposites Development for the Removal of Environmental Pollutants and Bioremediation

“…Fouling represents one of the biggest problems of membrane technology, as it compromises filtration efficiency of membranes and reduces their lifespan. It is caused by agents present in wastewater such as inorganic compounds, proteins, bacteria and other organic organisms [ 80 , 81 ].…”

“… Representation of a general antifouling coated membrane for common water foulants (bacteria, proteins, other organic compounds) and some antifouling functional agents [ 81 ]. …”

A Review of Stimuli-Responsive Smart Materials for Wearable Technology in Healthcare: Retrospective, Perspective, and Prospective

“…The sol–gel technique has been used to produce textile surface modification to realize technical textiles, thus improving the ordinary performances of the treated fabrics. Various functionalities, such as UV-radiation protection, dye fastness, anti-microbial finishing, water repellency, bio-molecule immobilization, flame retardancy, and self-cleaning properties [ 207 , 208 , 209 , 210 , 211 , 212 ], have been achieved by depositing sol–gel coatings on a textile substrate. Furthermore, sol–gel materials have also been studied for innovative applications regarding, for example, hydrogen production by water photo-splitting and optical sensors [ 213 ].…”

Design and Development of Fluorinated and Biocide-Free Sol–Gel Based Hybrid Functional Coatings for Anti-Biofouling/Foul-Release Activity

“…In an underwater environment, biological colonization, at the base of biofouling phenomena, is a relatively fast process in which microbial species [ 3 ] and the adhesion time vary significantly depending on the geographic area, especially related to environmental conditions (i.e., salinity, pH, temperature, nutrient levels, solar irradiation, etc.) [ 4 , 5 ].…”