Anti-adhesion effects of liquid-infused textured surfaces on high-temperature stainless steel for soft tissue

Soft tissue adhesion on the electrosurgical instruments can induce many serious complications, such as failure of hemostasis and damage to the surrounding soft tissue. The soft tissue adhesion is mainly caused by the high temperature on the instrument surface generally made of stainless steel. Nepenthes inspired liquid-infused surfaces (LIS), highly promising for anti-adhesion, have attracted considerable interests. In this paper, we investigated the anti-adhesion effects of LIS on high-temperature stainless steel for soft tissue for the first time, aiming to develop a new approach to solve the soft tissue adhesion problem. The textured surface, acting as the holding structures, was fabricated by photolithography-assisted chemical etching. Silicone oil, with good biocompatibility and high-temperature resistance, was chosen as the infused liquid. The adhesion force measurements for soft tissue on the LIS at high temperatures indicated that the soft tissue adhesion force was decreased by approximately 80% at 250 °C. Besides, the cycle tests of soft tissue adhesion force demonstrated the excellent stability of prepared LIS. We anticipate that LIS will be of great promise for practical applications on the electrosurgical instruments.