The Fabrication of Mechanobactericidal Coating and Its Application in Mechanical Sterilization

Bacteria are difficult to be eliminated because of their multi-drug resistance, which brings significant threats to public health. Among the antibacterial methods, mechanobactericidal surfaces provide a possible approach to solving this problem. In this study, a generally used mechanical sterilization is developed by fabricating a nanostructured coating. The functional coating is simply fabricated by growing zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs, ZIF-8 mixed with ZIF-67) nanospikes on the surface of the fabric substrate in situ. The fabricated ZIF nanospikes are stable and effective, with the sterilization efficiency approaching 99.9999%. This technique provides a fast, safe, and low-cost antibacterial method without drug resistance, which can be potentially used in hospitals, emergency treatments, and superbug protection in the future.