Biomimetic surfaces prepared by soft lithography and vapour deposition for hydrophobic and antibacterial performance

This study demonstrates the synthesis of a bioinspired surface exhibiting hydrophobic and antibacterial functionalities using a two-stage synthesis approach which involves soft lithography and initiated chemical vapour deposition (iCVD). Sandpapers, which are inexpensive and available with desired grit size, were used as the moulds in soft lithography to transfer the rough surface patterns to the PDMS replica surfaces. The antibacterial surface modification of the PDMS replicas was done through vapour-phase deposition of thin poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate-vinylbenzyl chloride) (P(DEAEMA-VBC)) films by iCVD method from the corresponding monomers. FTIR analysis of the as-deposited films showed a high retention of the chemical functionalities. The hydrophobicity and antibacterial performances of the flat and rough surfaces were examined as a function of surface roughness. The antibacterial activities were tested against gram-negative E. coli and gram-positive S. aureus. It was found that obtained replicas achieved up to a 7-log reduction in bacterial population and showed high hydrophobicity.