Peptide-Based Approaches to Fight Biofouling

Biofouling is the undesirable accumulation of organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and barnacles on surfaces. It is a serious problem in many areas of our lives including health, food, water, and energy. For example, biofouling on medical devices causes hospital-acquired infections. These infections caused by bacteria are often resistant to conventional antibiotics and therefore increase the number of deaths related to hospitalization. One of the solutions to avoid biofouling is to coat the surfaces with a material that resists biofouling by either killing the organisms (i.e., antimicrobial coating) or preventing their adhesion to the surface (i.e., antifouling coating). These coating solutions include the usage of biocidal agents, antibiotics, nanoparticles, polymers, and polycationic materials. Each of these solutions, however, has certain drawbacks. These include lack of long-term stability, low biocompatibility, and high toxicity. In this context, peptide-based materials gain considerable attention as antifouling and antimicrobial coatings. This is due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low toxicity profile. Here, the various types of peptide-based materials utilized as antifouling coatings are reviewed. Recent reports show the importance of these peptide-based coatings for applications ranging from biomedical implants to biosensors.