Touching Surfaces: einfache Anwendung, große Auswirkung

Abstract

Microorganisms accompany us in our everyday lives as an essential part of the human body and the habitats we inhabit. While many of the microorganisms are beneficial for us human beings, some of them can cause infections. Due to the unique conditions during spaceflight impacting the immune system, opportunistic pathogens can be dangerous. Many microorganisms can survive on surfaces for a long time, making them a potential source of infection. Using antimicrobial surfaces for frequently touched areas, the spread of opportunistic pathogens could be prevented in spaceflight and on Earth. Touching Surfaces is an interdisciplinary project using material science and microbiology for applied testing of antibacterial surfaces for spaceflight and application on Earth. Its easy implementation due to the small size of the Touch Arrays and portability, allows testing of antimicrobial surfaces under various conditions such as microgravity like on the International Space Station.