Bioinspired superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted great interest due to their special functions and wide applications. However, it is still a big challenge to construct a durable superhydrophobic coating for large-scale applications due to its easy destruction by the mechanochemical attack. In this mini-review, we present the state-of-the-art developments in the rational design of mechanochemical durable and self-healing superhydrophobic surfaces. First, the mechanically durable superhydrophobic surfaces are constructed to endure mechanical damage by adjusting the surface morphology and increasing the binding force between the substrates and the modified materials. Second, chemical damages also have been taken into consideration to develop chemically robust superhydrophobic surfaces, such as chemical etching, ultraviolet (UV)-light irradiation, and bioerosion, etc. Third, endowing superhydrophobic coatings with self-healing function can effectively improve the durability and prolong the lifespan of the coatings by releasing low-surface-energy agents or regenerating topographic structures. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives in developing super durable bioinspired superhydrophobic surfaces by structure design and chemistry control are discussed. The innovative points provided in this mini-review will provide deep fundamental insight for prolonging the lifetime of the superhydrophobic surfaces and enable their practical applications in the near future.

Electrospun fiber has highly structural similarity with natural bone extracelluar matrix (ECM). Many researches about fabricating organic–inorganic composite materials have been carried out in order to mimic the natural composition of bone and enhance the biocompatibility of materials. In this work, pearl powder was added to the poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and the composite nanofiber scaffold was prepared by electrospinning. Mineralization ability of the composite scaffolds can be evaluated by analyzing hydroxyapatite (HA) formation on the surface of nanofiber scaffolds. The obtained composite nanofiber scaffolds showed an enhanced mineralization capacity due to incorporation of pearl powder. The HA formed amount of the composite scaffolds was raised as the increase of pearl powder in composite scaffolds. Therefore, the prepared PHBV/pearl composite nanofiber scaffolds would be a promising candidate as an osteoconductive composite material for bone repairing

A co-based porous metal-organic framework (MOF) of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) was utilized to prepare a ZIF-67/CNFs composite via a one-pot synthesis method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to investigate the morphology, structure, and composition of the resulting composite. A novel high-performance non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor was constructed based on the ZIF-67/CNFs composite. The ZIF-67/CNFs based sensor exhibited enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards H₂O₂ compared to a pure ZIF-67-based sensor, due to the synergistic effects of ZIF-67 and CNFs. Meanwhile, chronoamperometry was utilized to explore the detection performance of the sensor. Results showed the sensor displayed high-efficiency electrocatalysis towards H₂O₂ with a detection limit of 0.62 μM (S/N = 3), a sensitivity of 323 µA mM⁻¹ cm⁻², a linear range from 0.0025 to 0.19 mM, as well as satisfactory selectivity and long-term stability. Furthermore, the sensor demonstrated its application potential in the detection of H₂O₂ in food.

A drug-loaded implantable scaffold is a promising substitute for the treatment of tissue defects after a tumor resection operation. In this work, natural pearl powder with good biocompatibility and osteoconductivity was incorporated into polylactic (PLA) nanofibers via electrospinning, and doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was also loaded in the PLA/pearl scaffold, resulting in a drug-loaded composite nanofibrous scaffold (DOX@PLA/pearl). In vitro drug delivery of DOX from a PLA/pearl composite scaffold was measured and in vitro anti-tumor efficacy was also examined, in particular the effect of the pearl content on both key properties were studied. The results showed that DOX was successfully loaded into PLA/pearl composite nanofibrous scaffolds with different pearl content. More importantly, the delivery rate of DOX kept rising as the pearl content increased, and the anti-tumor efficacy of the drug-loaded scaffold on HeLa cells was improved at an appropriate pearl powder concentration. Thus, we expect that the prepared DOX@PLA/pearl powder nanofibrous mat is a highly promising implantable scaffold that has great potential in postoperative cancer treatment.

Pearl powder is a natural composite of CaCO₃ and organic matter, which is a promising biomaterial for bone tissue engineering. In the present work, pearl powder incorporated polylactic (PLA) nanofibrous scaffold fabricated via electrospinning process to improve the weak biocompatibility and mineralization ability of PLA, was used as support for deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) and supporting cell culture. Then, the as-prepared scaffolds were well characterized by several assays. Morphology observations showed that pearl powder can homogeneously distribute on the surfaces of nanofibers, and appreciably better hydrophilicity was obtained on a PLA/pearl scaffold than PLA. After a mineralization process, HA particles successfully deposited on the nanofiber, which fully covered the surfaces of PLA/pearl nanofibers, whereas coverage seemed only partial on pristine PLA. An in vitro test illustrated higher cell proliferation and better adhesion morphology of MC3T3s that appeared on the PLA/pearl nanofibrous scaffold. Therefore, electrospinning a PLA/pearl nanofibrous scaffold has superior properties to pristine PLA, and shows potential application in bone tissue engineering.

In this paper, a simple method to prepare hydrophilic reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was proposed via reducing GO by amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (NHBP), the as-prepared NrGO could present excellent dispersibility, near infrared (NIR) light absorbance, photothermal conversion ability and stability. Then, the doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was conjugated with NrGO to prepare the drug-loading system, and a pH/photothermal dual-responsive drug delivery behavior was characterized. At acidic environment or under NIR laser irradiation, the drug release rate could be improved, which is beneficial to control release anti-tumor drug in tumor tissues. What is more, the in vitro cell experiments revealed that NrGO was well biocompatible, and in the tumor inhibition part, comparing to the control group without any treatment, DOX@NrGO gained efficient chemo-photothermal synergetic therapy, the inhibition rate of which was much higher than single chemotherapy of released DOX. Therefore, the as-prepared DOX@NrGO obtained great potential application in tumor therapy and an excellent candidate in other biomed applications.