## Successful Release of Voriconazole and Flavonoids from MAPLE Deposited Bioactive Surfaces  
[PERSON] 1,2\({}^{\text{(c)}}\), [PERSON] 1\({}^{\text{(c)}}\), [PERSON] 1, [PERSON] 1,*\({}^{\text{(c)}}\), [PERSON] 3, [PERSON] 3\({}^{\text{(c)}}\), [PERSON] 4\({}^{\text{(c)}}\), [PERSON] 5, [PERSON] 5, [PERSON] 5, [PERSON] 5,* and [PERSON] 6  
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma & Radiation Physics, P.O. Box MG-36, 077125 Bucharest-Magurele, Romania; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (I.N.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.V.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.P.)  
Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, 050107 Bucharest, Romania  
Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 1-7 Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.F.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.M.G.)  
Microbiology Immunology Department, Faculty of Biology and Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB), University of Bucharest, 77206 Bucharest, Romania; [PERSON]RESS]  
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.D.B.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (D.Y.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.T.)  
Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.C.); [PERSON]S] (R.J.N.); Tel: +40-(0)21-457-4550 (R.C.); +1-919-696-8488 (R.J.N.)  
Received: 17 January 2019; Accepted: 15 February 2019; Published: 22 February 2019  
Featured Application: Biomimetic thin films deposited by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) have a promising potential for use in designing medical device surfaces with antifungal activity for releasing combinations of natural flavonoids (quercetin dihydrate and resveratrol) and antifungal compounds (amphotericin B and voriconazole) embedded in a polyvinylpyrrolidone biopolymer. MAPLE may offer a viable alternative for antimicrobial coating synthesis with specific advantages in implant fabrication.  
We explored the potential of biomimetic thin films fabricated by means of matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) for releasing combinations of active substances represented by flavonoids (quercetin dihydrate and resveratrol) and antifungal compounds (amphotericin B and voriconazole) embedded in a polyvinylpyrrolidone biopolymer; the antifungal activity of the film components was evaluated using _in vitro_ microbiological assays. Thin films were deposited using a pulsed KrF* excimer laser source which were structurally characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). High-quality thin films with chemical structures similar to dropcast ones were created using an optimum laser fluence of -80 mJ/cm\({}^{2}\). Bioactive substances were included within the polymer thin films using the MAPLE technique. The results of the _in vitro_ microbiology assay, which utilized a modified disk diffusion approach and were performed using two fungal strains (_Candida albicans_ American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 90028 and _Candida paralysis_ American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 22019), revealed that voriconazole was released in an active form from the polyvinylpyrrolidone matrix. The results of this study show that the MAPLE-deposited bioactive thin films have a promising potential for use in designing combination products and devices, such as drug delivery devices, and medical device surfaces with antifungal activity.  
flavonoid; quercetin dihydrate; resveratrol; biopolymer; matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation; antifungal activity