Advances of Polymer Nanocomposites for Antimicrobial Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Throughout the history of mankind, infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, or other pathogens have resulted in the development of mild to severe health issues. These tiny pathogens are impossible to detect by the naked eye and are capable of adhering to surfaces, undergoing rapid population and forming microenvironments harmful to humans once specific conditions are met. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has clearly alerted about the necessity of highly effective antimicrobial surfaces, medical devices, and polymers to curtail the spread of infectious pathogens. Even though a myriad number of antibiotics have been developed to fight against infectious diseases during the last century, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and newly emerging pathogens remain challenges. According to a report, more than EUR 1.5 billion has been spent annually in treating various drug-resistant infections. In this aspect, antimicrobial polymers are receiving remarkable attention in recent years regarding their potential application in destroying infectious pathogens. Polymer nanocomposites (PNs, both synthetic and natural polymer composites) including nanosheets, flakes, fibers, whiskers, stars, spheres, and a variety of other forms are preferable to modify the properties of the endproduct with respect to chemical, biological, mechanical, morphological, and antimicrobial aspects. The antimicrobial features of PNs are vital in modern medicine and surgical operations. Therefore, several investigations have been carried out in recent years on the significance of polymer nanocomposites in treating various microbial infections. The main aim of this Special Issue is to disclose the key findings of research on PNs for antimicrobial applications.

We are pleased to invite submissions in the form of original research articles, communications, prospects, and short reviews that reflect the key findings regarding the use of PNs in various applications related to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, stimuli-responsive activity, antifouling–microbicidal effect, self-adaptive antimicrobial action, or multimodal sensing properties.

This Special Issue is not limited to the abovementioned topics but also welcomes manuscripts on the antimicrobial features of PNs in relation to dental infections, 2D membranes, wound dressing/healing, anticancer drugs, scaffolds, medical implants, etc.

Dr. Vignesh Kumaravel
Dr. A. Joseph Nathanael
Dr. Deniz Atila
Dr. Bengi Yilmaz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• antibacterial
• antiviral
• antifungal
• biomaterials
• 2D materials
• 3D printing
• natural polymers
• hydrogels