The world of biomedicine is vast and ever expanding; yet, we are still facing some of the same diseases that have been around for millennia prior to the rise of modern medicine. While therapies have been developed to alleviate infection, the imminent eradication of bacterial diseases that was predicted in the 1960s has not happened, in part due to development of strains resistant to anticipated treatments. From such examples, an urgent need arises to devise new approaches to combat infections and other medical device-associated illnesses. Medical device coating strategies have emerged as a potent strategy aimed at addressing such issues.;We draw inspiration from phenols and polyphenols, found in plant and marine mussel tissues, where they serve a variety of functions including: structural support, prevention of radiation damage, pigmentation, chemical defense, and adhesion. We have developed a family of phenolic coatings that exploit the adhesive property while also exhibiting desirable antimicrobial and antioxidant characteristics for applications in biomedicine and beyond. The nanoscale phenolic coatings are capable of adhering to virtually any surface on macro, micro and nano scales, with potential for further chemical modifications. Moreover, phenolic coating precursors are relatively inexpensive and surface modifications can be achieved through a single-step dip-coating approach. The antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and potential anticancer properties of phenolic coatings were investigated.
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