Elizabeth J. Brisbois

A bioinspired three-channel coaxial dry-jet wet-spinning platform enables continuous TPU/PLA multilayer vascular grafts with tunable mechanics, a collagen-functionalized lumen, and favorable preliminary vascular-cell and blood compatibility.

As hospital‐acquired infections and antibiotic and antifungal resistance increase, there is a need for constant innovation of novel antimicrobial solutions. To this end, the endogenous free‐radical gas nitric oxide has been explored, as nitric oxide kills bacteria effectively at low levels without producing significant cytotoxic effects. Biomaterials can be designed to release nitric oxide by incorporating nitric oxide donor molecules such as S‐ nitrosothiols. Though nitric‐oxide‐releasing materials show excellent cytocompatibility and antibacterial activity, their efficacy against fungal species is limited. This work aims to combine nitric oxide release via an S‐ nitrosothiol, S ‐nitroso ‐N ‐acetylpenicillamine, with the release of a natural antifungal compound, piperine, from a commercially available biomedical polymer, CarboSil. In this work, a polymer platform was successfully developed that does not induce cytotoxicity while causing statistically significant reductions in the adhered and planktonic microbial loads of two bacterial strains and one fungal strain. This material is promising for preventing hospital‐acquired and biomaterial‐associated infections in short‐term applications.

Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains a major contributor to antimicrobial‐resistant infections worldwide. Antimicrobial blue light (aBL, ∼405‐450 nm) generates intracellular reactive oxygen species through excitation of endogenous chromophores, while nitric oxide (NO) induces complementary nitrosative and oxidative damage. S ‐nitrosothiols (RSNOs) provide a platform for visible‐light‐triggered NO release. Here, a synergistic antimicrobial strategy combining aBL with RSNO coatings was developed to simultaneously generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and evaluated against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Four RSNO donors ( S ‐nitroso‐ N ‐acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), S ‐nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), S ‐nitroso‐1‐adamantanethiol (SNAT), and S ‐nitrosotriphenylmethanethiol (Ph ₃ ‐CSNO)) were incorporated into catheter insert coatings and exhibited distinct, wavelength‐dependent NO‐release profiles, with aBL enhancing NO release for all formulations. SNAT showed the greatest photochemical response, with a 235% increase in steady‐state NO flux under irradiation. The combined generation of reactive species produced potent broad‐spectrum antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus , MRSA, Escherichia coli , and Candida albicans , achieving >4‐log reductions in microbial viability with all RSNO‐coated inserts under aBL after 24 h. In vivo, SNAT‐coated inserts significantly reduced S. aureus colonization in a rabbit infection model, achieving up to a 2.35‐log reduction in bacterial burden, demonstrating that light‐triggered NO delivery combined with aBL provides an antibiotic‐independent strategy for preventing device‐associated infections.

This work introduces a multifunctional PDMS coating that uses a nanoemulsion platform to co-deliver nitric oxide and eugenol, enabling simultaneous reduction of bacterial adhesion and anti-fouling capabilities.

Microbial contamination remains a persistent challenge across healthcare, environmental, and food production sectors, contributing to delayed wound healing, increased healthcare costs, and the spread of water- and foodborne diseases. The growing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance further highlights the need for alternative strategies to effectively control pathogenic microorganisms. Antimicrobial sponges have emerged as promising platforms because of their high porosity, large surface area, and ability to incorporate a wide range of antimicrobial agents. These materials can be constructed from natural and synthetic polymers as well as hybrid matrices, enabling the integration of disinfectants, essential oils, metal-based agents, and other bioactive compounds to enhance antimicrobial performance. This Review summarizes recent advances in the design and development of antimicrobial sponge materials, with particular emphasis on how material composition and antimicrobial strategies influence performance across different applications. Applications across biomedical, dental, environmental, and food-related fields are discussed to highlight the versatility of the sponge-based antimicrobial platforms. Finally, current challenges and future directions aimed at improving the performance, functionality, and translational potential are outlined.

The recent resurgence of antimicrobial resistance, driven by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in healthcare, has underscored the need for research in antibacterial approaches, or a resurgence of old ideas. One historically popular therapy was the use of bacteriophages, which are naturally occurring viruses that infect bacterial pathogens. The discovery of penicillin in the late 1920s led to the subsequent decline in the development of bacteriophage therapies. However, billions of dollars are now being spent on developing antibiotics, yet these drugs quickly become less effective as antimicrobial-resistant pathogens emerge. These infections are a major cause of medical device failure; another source is thrombus formation, particularly in indwelling devices. Strategies to combat infection and thrombus formation simultaneously are needed. Herein, cost-effective bacteriophages were encapsulated in an oil-based nanoemulsion, which was subsequently embedded into a medical-grade material. The nanoemulsion forms a slippery surface that uses a passive strategy to repel bacterial cells and blood proteins, thereby mitigating infection and clotting rates. With the nature of the nanoemulsion, the phages were released from the material slowly at a rate of 2.5 ± 0.48 × 103 plaque forming units (PFU) cm–2 every 24 h. Additionally, the combination of passive and active antibacterial strategies achieved 88.9 ± 4.6% killing efficiency against the common pathogen Escherichia coli. The nanoemulsion-modified materials also exhibited significant decreases in fibrinogen adsorption, a key initiator of clot formation on biomaterial surfaces. The bacteriophage nanoemulsion group showed a 78.9 ± 16.5% reduction in adsorbed fibrinogen compared to the unmodified ePTFE material. This combined therapy demonstrated enhanced antifouling and antibacterial performance while maintaining both cyto- and hemocompatibility, positioning it as a promising antibacterial material for future biomedical applications.

A durable superhydrophobic ZnO/10Cu coating integrates passive bacterial repulsion with physiological nitric oxide generation, reducing surface bacterial attachment while actively eliminating planktonic bacteria.

Once known as a toxic gas, hydrogen sulfide (H ₂ S) is now making its way into many therapeutic applications. Similar to its other fellow endogenous gasotransmitters, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, H ₂ S is a small gas with a short half‐life, making it extremely capable of penetrating through cell membranes quite easily and fast via gas exchange. This fundamental small molecule possesses many physiological and pathological functions and is found in almost every mammalian system, such as the cardiovascular system, the integumentary/skin system, the neural system, the gastrointestinal tract system, and the skeletal system. As a therapeutic, the gas can modulate biological pathways, maintain homeostasis under physiological conditions, and mediate several pathological processes, thereby supporting cardioprotective applications. Due to the ever‐increasing cardiovascular complications, especially concerning myocardial infarction and atherosclerosis, more and more patients are suffering from heart failure, and in some cases, this results in death. To remedy the progression of cardiovascular complications and cardiovascular disease burden as a whole, H ₂ S has emerged as a potential candidate to mediate this problem. This review will specifically focus on the therapeutic potential of H ₂ S‐releasing platforms tailored to aid in cardiovascular applications.

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biodegradable polymer widely used in biomedical applications; however, its hydrophobic surface promotes protein adsorption, platelet activation, bacterial adhesion, and thrombosis, limiting its use in blood-contacting devices. In this work, we report a multifunctional co-drug delivery coating approach that modifies native PCL to enhance hemocompatibility. A nitric oxide (NO) donor, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), is incorporated within the PCL substrate to provide sustained antiplatelet, antithrombotic, and antibacterial activity, while a hydrophilic HydroMed D4 polyurethane coating loaded with the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor (TIC) forms an antibiofouling interface and enables controlled drug elution. The performance of this integrated system was evaluated as a function of TIC loading and compared with relative controls to assess its antifoulant and thromboresistant properties under plasma protein and whole-blood exposure. The layered coating significantly reduced protein adsorption, platelet adhesion/activation, and bacterial attachment compared with single-component surfaces, demonstrating complementary effects that enhance hemocompatibility. This platform establishes a scalable approach to engineer biodegradable polymers into multifunctional coatings suitable for blood-contacting medical devices, such as catheters and vascular interfaces.