In vitro and in vivo evaluation of implantable bacterial-killing coatings based on host defense peptides and their synthetic mimics

•Implantable bacterial-killing antimicrobial coatings based on Host defense peptides (HDPs) and their synthetic mimics are promising candidates to combat implant-associated infections.•Covalent modification of the antimicrobial surface has been actively utilized to prevent early-stage microbial infections and drug resistance.•In vitro methods were utilized to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of these coatings and can give a prediction to the further feasibility study of using them in vivo.•In vivo site-specific infection model is critical to explore the bacterial killing efficacy of these coatings and promote them for further clinical applications.