Tackling Future Epidemics: Antibacterial, Antimycotic and Antiviral Active Surfaces

Dear Colleagues,

For the past approximately two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been changing our habits and putting us to the test, imposing strict rules of conduct and limiting our freedom through containment measures. Nevertheless, COVID-19 is only one of the numerous serious, spreadable illnesses that humanity has faced until now, and it will surely not be the last. For instance, in just the last 20 years, two other coronavirus outbreaks emerged, namely, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which occurred in 2003 and 2012, respectively. Even though RNA viruses are the strongest candidates for creating a pandemic, due to their high mutation rate, history has taught us that bacteria (e.g., Vibrio cholerae for Cholera, the last epidemic of which ended in 1975) and fungi are enormous threats. too. This issue is further aggravated by the growing antibiotic resistance we are recently experiencing in many deadly infections.

Being prepared to cope with the next incoming epidemic includes but is not limited to conceiving, developing, and benchmarking new self-cleaning and active surfaces to hinder the spread of potential viral, bacterial, or mycotic pathogens. Indeed, cross-contamination through infected surfaces (tables, lift buttons, etc.) is one of the major pathways for pathogen spread and is playing a crucial role in the current epidemic.

I strongly believe that the recipe for effective and durable active surfaces lies in the synergistic combination of both modelistic and experimental investigations, aiming to explore and to prove the intrinsic mechanism of action of the microbicidal effect and to engineer a structured surface specifically tailored for those purposes.

This Special Issue has been conceived to select and to provide visibility to the most relevant experimental and theoretical results in the field of coatings or surfaces specifically engineered for antimicrobial, antibiotic, and antimycotic purposes. Experimental works with an applicative perspective for the nosocomial environment and with an expected high impact on healthcare are strongly encouraged.

I kindly invite you to submit your original research articles and reviews, especially if containing one or more of the following aspects:

• New structured/unstructured surface or coating with antimicrobial or antifouling properties;
• Mechanical characterization of potentially antimicrobial coating and surfaces, with particular attention to adhesion, wear resistance, and durability;
• Functional characterization of films and surfaces tailored to contrast the diffusion of pathogens;
• Experimental and theoretical study of mechanism of interactions of pathogens with potential coatings constituents in the perspective of a future applications;
• Simulations on the mechanism of interaction of microbicidal/antifouling surfaces with pathogens;
• Self-cleaning surfaces with either modelistic or experimental results.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Giulio Benetti
Guest Editor

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