Engineered Antimicrobial Surfaces

How can a surface be designed to resist microbial growth—and how can researchers tell whether it works? Engineered Antimicrobial Surfaces brings together research on the materials, surface properties, and evaluation methods behind this fast-moving area of materials science.

Edited by S. Snigdha, Sabu Thomas, E. K. Radhakrishnan, and Nandakumar Kalarikkal, this multidisciplinary reference connects antimicrobial surface design with microbiology, polymers, nanomaterials, and engineering. It also considers a question essential to responsible development: what effects might engineered antimicrobial surfaces have on the environment?

From material choice to microbial targets

The chapters survey several routes to antimicrobial and antifouling surfaces, including polymeric coatings, carbon nanotubes, phyllosilicate clay-based materials, and metal-based nanomaterials. Alongside these material strategies, the book examines potential microbial target sites and the role of surface energy and roughness in influencing microbial growth.

Research themes across the volume

• The need for engineered antimicrobial surfaces in the context of microbial resistance
• Polymeric antimicrobial coatings and their diverse applications
• Carbon nanotube-based antimicrobial and antifouling surfaces
• Phyllosilicate clay-based antimicrobial materials
• Metal-based nanomaterials for industrial and biomedical applications
• Methods for assessing surface efficacy and considering possible environmental effects

Together, these topics offer readers a view of the field that goes beyond material synthesis alone: the design of an antimicrobial surface also involves understanding how it interacts with microorganisms, how its effectiveness is assessed, and what consequences its use may carry.

A focused reference for interdisciplinary work

This book is aimed at graduate and postgraduate students, research scholars, engineers, and professionals in materials science, microbiology, polymer chemistry, biotechnology, tissue engineering, nanoscience, and related areas. It may also interest industrial researchers and materials technologists exploring antimicrobial surfaces and coatings.

For readers working where materials research meets microbial control, Engineered Antimicrobial Surfaces provides a focused collection of approaches, applications, and research questions to explore.