Table 1.

Common methods of antimicrobial surface external activation by a physical stimulus and several recent more advanced approaches.

Simple Methods of Surface Antimicrobial Response Activation
Stimuli	Mechanism of Actions
Temperature	Temperature-governed antimicrobial releasePhase transformation of grafted polymers and repellence of attached bacteria or biomolecules
Light	ROS productionLight-to heat conversion and bacteria-killing
Electric field	Reversible antimicrobial entrapping/releaseExternal control of surface morphology and wettability (including slippery and bio-repellency)
Magnetic field	Remote triggering of drug releaseSurface shape control—mechanical killing
Mechanical forces	Mechano-induced antimicrobial agent(s) local extrusion
More Sophisticated Approaches and Recent Trends
Approach	Advantages
Double and multi-stimuli control	Better control of antimicrobial agents release and activation; simultaneous utilization of several surface protection mechanisms
Killing and release	Prevention of surface deactivation due to killed bacteria residue or their metabolic products
Detect and kill	Ability to apply external physical triggering in the right place at the right time