{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,10]],"date-time":"2026-10-10T02:07:29Z","timestamp":1791598049610,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769644800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002510","name":"Kongju National University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002510","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Korean Government","award":["RS-2023-00212797"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2023-00212797"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Education","award":["RS-2023-00301914"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2023-00301914"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea","award":["HR22C1832"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HR22C1832"]}]},{"name":"Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea","award":["RS-2022-KP002719"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2022-KP002719"]}]},{"name":"Korean Government","award":["RS-2025-00516760"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-00516760"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea","award":["2025-rise-15-105"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025-rise-15-105"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this work, we demonstrate precise control over laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on stainless steel (SS) using femtosecond (fs) laser processing to suppress bacterial adhesion. We systematically compare the antifouling behavior of laser-textured surfaces with distinct pattern directionalities\u2014linear and circular. Fs laser irradiation with linear polarization produces directional and anisotropic LIPSS, which progressively evolve into more complex hierarchical surface textures as processing conditions vary. In contrast, fs laser irradiation with circular polarization yields isotropic surface morphologies. Despite these morphological differences, the surface wettability remains nearly constant, with contact angles confined to a narrow range of 32.6\u201336.9\u00b0. Bacterial adhesion tests using Escherichia coli reveal that surfaces patterned with anisotropic features generated by linear polarization\u2014particularly at an incident power of 30 mW\u2014exhibit enhanced antifouling performance compared to isotropic counterparts. These results indicate that antifouling efficacy is governed not only by surface wettability but also by the spatial organization and anisotropy of the LIPSS. This study highlights the critical role of polarization-controlled fs laser processing in tailoring surface architectures and provides a rational strategy for designing bio-resistant metallic surfaces.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31030480","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T08:19:38Z","timestamp":1769761178000},"page":"480","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Polarization-Controlled Femtosecond Laser Texturing Enables Robust Antifouling Stainless Steel Surfaces"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Eunyeop","family":"Ji","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kongju National University, Cheonan 31080, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daesik","family":"Ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Chemistry Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chan Hyeon","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering (Department of Aeronautics, Mechanical and Electronic Convergence Engineering), Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 61, Daehak-ro, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 39177, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vassilia","family":"Zorba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Energy Technologies Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jung Hwan","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering (Department of Aeronautics, Mechanical and Electronic Convergence Engineering), Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 61, Daehak-ro, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 39177, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1622-8806","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kyueui","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"KNU G-LAMP Project Group and KNU Institute of Basic Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Institute, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu 41940, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5113-3706","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Minok","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kongju National University, Cheonan 31080, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Energy Technologies Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1007\/s00253-002-1066-9","article-title":"Biofouling in water systems\u2014Cases, causes and countermeasures","volume":"59","author":"Flemming","year":"2002","journal-title":"Appl. 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