About this Research Topic
Also the upcoming long-term human space exploration will drive developments of durable antimicrobials. On the International Space Station (ISS), inhabited for more than 20 years, confined humid environment favours growth of terrestrial bacteria and fungi. New resistant bacterial strains have been found to evolve on the ISS. Moreover, in circulated water, products leaking from on-board materials have been detected, such as heavy metals. For longer flight and exploration times in missions targeting the Moon / Mars, without the possibility to receive resources from Earth, microbial contamination could pose a significant threat.
This research topic invites publications in the area of all aspects of antimicrobial surface treatments / materials targeting space applications or possible to spin into space applications. We hope to capture the recent progress in this field, with variety of ideas, such as use of biobased agents or surface topography as contact killer. We are open to all types of submissions, including simulations and experimental work, development of new antimicrobial agents and assessment of their performance in relevant environments.
We are interested in all type of manuscripts, original papers and review papers.
• New antimicrobial coatings for space applications and their performance
• Assessment of the existing antimicrobial coatings for space applications
• General assessment of microbial contamination on space stations
• Trends and future research in antimicrobial coatings for confined space stations
Keywords: antimicrobial, surface treatment, space, bioburden, coating, material degradation
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.