Magnesium alloys are regarded as potential candidates in industrial and biomedical applications because of their excellent mechanical properties and biodegradability. However, the excessive degradation rate of magnesium alloys can cause a premature disintegration of mechanical integrity, which is the main bottleneck that limits applications. Inspired by nature, various novel surface designs provide a clever strategy to regulate the corrosion behavior of magnesium alloys. This review extensively discusses bioinspired surface designs to reduce corrosion resistance and realize functionalization, so as to offer new ideas with great potential for biomedical applications. Future research on corrosion resistance is expected to benefit greatly from the bioinspired surface designs.

Liquid-like surfaces have demonstrated immense potential in their ability to resist cell adhesion, a critical requirement for numerous applications across various domains. However, the conventional methodologies for preparing liquid-like surfaces often entail a complex multi-step polymer brush modification process, which is not only time-consuming but also presents significant challenges. In this work, we developed a single-cycle polymer brush modification strategy to build liquid-like surfaces by leveraging high-molecular-weight bis(3-aminopropyl)-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, which significantly simplifies the preparation process. The resultant liquid-like surface is endowed with exceptional slipperiness, effectively inhibiting bacterial colonization and diminishing the adherence of platelets. Moreover, it offers promising implications for reducing the dependency on anticoagulants in microfluidic systems constructed from PDMS, all while sustaining its antithrombotic attributes.

Magnesium alloys have attracted considerable interest as prospective biodegradable materials in cardiovascular stents because of their metal mechanical properties and biocompatibility. However, fast degradation and slow endothelialization results in the premature disintegration of mechanical integrity and the restenosis of implanted Mg-based stents, which is the primary hurdle limiting their predicted clinical applicability. The development of bioinspired strategies is a burgeoning area in cardiovascular stents’ fields of research. Inspired by the unique features of lotus leaves, pitcher plants, healthy endothelial cells (ECs), marine mussels, and extracellular matrix, various bioinspired strategies have been developed to build innovative artificial materials with tremendous promise for medicinal applications. This perspective focuses on bioinspired strategies to provide innovative ideas for reducing corrosion resistance and accelerating endothelialization. The bioinspired strategies are envisaged to serve as a significant reference for future research on Mg-based medical devices.

Transparent self-cleaning coatings for photovoltaic (PV) glass require an effective balance among contaminant removal, optical transparency, and environmental durability. In this study, octadecyltrichlorosilane-modified silica (OTS-SiO₂) coatings were fabricated on glass substrates using a simple spray-deposition method, and the effects of initial SiO₂ suspension concentration on surface morphology, wettability, droplet mobility, self-cleaning performance, and optical transmittance were systematically investigated. Increasing the SiO₂ concentration promoted the development of particulate surface structures, enhanced water repellency, and reduced contact angle hysteresis, accompanied by improved droplet mobility and dust-removal performance. The OTS-SiO₂-15 coating, prepared using a SiO₂ concentration of 15 mg mL⁻¹, achieved a water contact angle of 140 ± 1.6°, a sliding angle of 3.9 ± 1.5°, a dust-removal efficiency of 91.6%, and a visible-light transmittance of 90.6 ± 0.3%. Further increases in SiO₂ concentration provided only limited improvements in droplet mobility and cleaning performance while substantially reducing optical transparency. Under mechanical impact, both sliding angle and contact angle hysteresis increased despite the retention of relatively high water contact angles, indicating deteriorated droplet mobility. When applied as photovoltaic cover glass, OTS-SiO₂-15 maintained an initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) comparable to that of uncoated glass (8.41% versus 8.43%). After 40 days of outdoor exposure, the normalized PCE decreased by 4.6% for the coated configuration, compared with 10.8% for uncoated glass. These results demonstrate that spray-deposited OTS-SiO₂ coatings can provide a practical balance among droplet mobility, self-cleaning performance, and optical transparency, supporting their potential application in photovoltaic glass protection.