Antifouling Coatings

Dear Colleagues,

Fouling is the attachment and accumulation of unwanted organic and inorganic matter on materials’ surfaces.  The phenomena cover broad areas and involve many factors.  They can be classified mainly into two categories:  living and non-living phenomena.  However, some researchers think that both are related to each other.  From this viewpoint, fouling phenomena might be considered and investigated based on the same biological factors and concepts.

The phenomena are also called biofouling, particularly when biological factors are obviously and directly involved. Biofouling is classified further into micro-fouling and macro-fouling. Macro-fouling includes the attachment of various organisms such as oysters, barnacles etc., to marine structures, components and ships.  Plants which incorporate sea water into their cooling systems have to establish a countermeasure.  The appropriate coating must work well to solve the industrial problems.  In addition to sea water, ground water or clean water might be used to cool the apparatus of some plants.  Such a cooling system is installed not only in plants, but also in commercial facilities, residential buildings etc. In those cases, pipes develop scales or slime inside them.  The scale is usually composed mainly of calcium carbonate, silicate etc.  The scale problem could also be considered a problem of macro-fouling.

As for micro-fouling, microorganisms play an important role.  When they attach to the materials’ surfaces or tissues of organisms, they form biofilms composed of more than 80% water, exopolymeric substances (polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids), and bacteria themselves. Due to the effect of ionic expolymeric substances in biofilms, biocides and antibiotics are not effective at killing bacterial. This means that bacteria could be resistant to medicines and chemicals. From a medical perspective, these characteristics would lead to drug tolerance. In particular, nosocomial infections, chronic diseases and biomaterials-assisted infection are linked to this phenomenon. The problem of hygiene in food processing, kitchens, baths and toilets is also related to micro-fouling and biofilms. Soil pipes, oil pipes and other water systems also have similar problems related to micro-fouling. Additionally, in those cases, a coating is very often the best solution to their problems.

In this Special Issue, the MPDI Coatings team and I would like to highlight the problem and solutions from the viewpoint of coatings as an anti-fouling countermeasure.  From academic papers to technical ones, there are many possibilities.  We will welcome them all, because the development of an anti-fouling coating will entail beneficial and economical solutions to enhance our lives and industrial activities.  We look forward to receiving your submissions. 

Prof. Dr. Hideyuki Kanematsu
Guest Editor

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. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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.