PubMed · 4907516
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B Harvey. 1970. Who started it all?. https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.27.1.81
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Copper and copper-based materials have gained increasing attention for the functional modification of implantable medical devices intended for prolonged soft-tissue contact, including vascular stents, catheters, and intrauterine devices. Owing to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, redox reactivity, and involvement in angiogenesis and cellular signaling, copper-based systems offer significant potential for multifunctional surface engineering. However, achieving a balance between antibacterial efficacy, corrosion behavior, controlled ion release, and cytocompatibility remains a critical challenge. This PRISMA-compliant systematic review analyzes copper-containing materials and surface modification strategies for soft-tissue biomedical applications. A structured search of Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed (2015-2025) identified 65 eligible studies. The review encompasses bulk copper-containing alloys, electrochemical and chemical surface modification techniques, physical vapor deposition approaches, and advanced hybrid systems integrating copper with polymers, hydrogels, or metal-phenolic networks. Across the reviewed literature, antibacterial performance was strongly dependent on copper concentration, microstructural distribution, and spatiotemporal ion release profiles. Moderate, well-controlled copper incorporation frequently improved antibacterial efficacy while maintaining acceptable hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility, particularly in vascular and blood-contacting devices. In contrast, excessive copper loading often accelerated corrosion and induced adverse cellular responses. Emerging multifunctional architectures demonstrated improved regulation of biological interactions, enabling simultaneous antibacterial, antithrombotic, and proendothelial effects. Overall, copper-based surface technologies represent a versatile platform for soft-tissue implant modification. Future translational progress will require precise control of copper release kinetics and comprehensive long-term in vivo validation to ensure safety and sustained therapeutic performance. From the authors' perspective, the most promising future direction involves multifunctional copper-based hybrid coatings capable of dynamically regulating ion release, host tissue integration, and antibacterial performance simultaneously. Strategies integrating hierarchical architectures, stimulus-responsive release systems, and clinically scalable fabrication methods are expected to play a key role in translating copper-containing surfaces from experimental concepts toward commercially viable soft-tissue biomedical devices.
A metal-catalyzed nucleophilic addition mechanism for the formation of radical adducts of the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) has been described recently (K. Makino, T. Hagiwara, A. Hagi, M. Nishi, and A. Murakami, 1990, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 172, 1073-1080; P. M. Hanna, W. Chamulitrat, and R. P. Mason, 1992, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 296, 640-644). In the present investigation, we have demonstrated that the recently reported inhibition of copper-dependent hydroxyl radical formation by the complexing agent 1,10-phenanthroline (OP), which appears to contradict the well-known chemical nuclease properties of CuI(OP)2, is an artifact resulting from an inhibition of the nucleophilic addition of water to DMPO by OP (A. C. Mello-Filho and R. Meneghini, 1991, Mutat. Res. 251, 109-113). Copper bound to OP was found to be a good catalyst of hydroxyl radical formation: the CuII(OP)2 complex can be reduced by H2O2 and the CuI(OP)2 generated reacts with the peroxide to form .OH. In contrast, no evidence could be obtained for oxidant formation from the CuII(aq)/H2O2 reaction system, despite the detection of a prominent signal from the DMPO hydroxyl radical adduct (DMPO/.OH) (the formation of which was due solely to the nucleophilic addition of water to DMPO). The failure to generate an oxidant in this reaction mixture was attributed to the failure of hydrogen peroxide to reduce CuII(aq), as hydroxyl radical formation did occur when CuI(aq) was added directly to H2O2. However, in order to account for the high concentration of alpha-hydroxyethanol radicals detected when ethanol was included in the CuI(aq)/H2O2 reaction, the possibility that an oxidant in addition to .OH (e.g., CuO+) is generated is discussed.
Although both the type 1 and type 2 coppers of Rhus vernicifera laccase are fully ESR detectable at 77 K, only 30% of the type 2 copper are in the cupric form at room temperature. The residual 70% of the type 2 copper was easily transformed into the ESR detectable form by irradiating the resting enzyme with microwave of 200 mW. The enzyme activity did not change by the irradiation with high-powered microwave, indicating that the type 2 copper can be in both the ESR detectable and ESR undetectable forms in solution. The room temperature ESR spectra of the type 2 copper-depleted laccase and of the azide-bound type 3 copper signals were also measured at room temperature and compared with those at 77 K.