Coatings that respond to changes in their environment are usually caller smart- or responsive coatings. Such coatings need to have a component such as a nanoparticles, responsive polymer or molecule incorporated in the coating. This kind of coatings can be fabricated by a variety of ways, for example by layer-by-layer, LB and LS deposition and dip coating.
Example of smart coatings is anti-microbial coatings that are created when silver nanoparticles are incorporated in the coating. The silver nanoparticles well known for the anti-microbial activity, and they can be incorporated to many kinds of surface layers and coatings in order to create this effect.