Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41053568›Full record

ArticleBMC microbiology2025

Touching Surfaces - Presence of microorganisms on antimicrobial metal surfaces on the International Space Station and in German schools.

Carolin L Krämer, Daniel W Müller, Franca Arndt, Anna Rehm, Bernd Walkenfort, Aisha S Ahmed, Aaron Haben, Alessa Schiele, Alina Auerhammer, Mike Hasenberg and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Carolin L KrämerDepartment of Natural Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Bonn- Rhein- Sieg, Rheinbach, Germany.
Daniel W MüllerDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Chair of Functional Materials, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
Franca ArndtDepartment of Applied Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany.
Anna RehmAlgorithmic Bioinformatics, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Bernd WalkenfortImaging Center Essen, Electron Microscopy Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
Aisha S AhmedDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Chair of Functional Materials, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
Aaron HabenDepartment of Inorganic Solid State Chemistry, Elemental Analysis, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
Alessa SchieleDepartment of Natural Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Bonn- Rhein- Sieg, Rheinbach, Germany.
Alina AuerhammerDepartment of Natural Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Bonn- Rhein- Sieg, Rheinbach, Germany.
Mike HasenbergImaging Center Essen, Electron Microscopy Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
Alessa L BoschertInstitute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Ralf KautenburgerDepartment of Inorganic Solid State Chemistry, Elemental Analysis, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
Stefan LeukoDepartment of Applied Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany. Stefan.leuko@dlr.de.
Stefan JanssenAlgorithmic Bioinformatics, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Matthias MaurerEuropean Astronaut Center, European Space Agency, Cologne, Germany.
Frank MücklichDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Chair of Functional Materials, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
Katharina SiemsDepartment of Applied Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microorganisms are an integral component of human health on Earth as well as for life on the International Space Station. However, inescapably, fomites in human habitats can serve as crucial niches for opportunistic pathogens. To explore potential countermeasures for the associated infection risk, the Touching Surfaces experiment evaluated antibacterial surfaces as high-touch surfaces on the International Space Station and on Earth. We used copper-based surfaces that integrate chemical antimicrobial properties with topography, thereby creating a metasurface. 16 S rRNA sequencing revealed that most bacteria found were human associated. While no significant distinction was observed between the microbial communities on the reference and antibacterial surfaces, isolation of microorganisms from the surfaces suggests that copper-based nanometer-structured surfaces exhibit enhanced antibacterial efficacy. The antibacterial efficacy of touched surfaces was reduced, as assessed by wet contact killing assays carried out using a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolate. The simplicity of implementing the surfaces allowed for straightforward testing of surfaces in both space and on Earth.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsAnti-Infective AgentsBacteriaCopperEnvironmental MicrobiologyFomitesSpacecraftGermanyHumansMethicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureusRNA, Ribosomal, 16SSchoolsSurface PropertiesAnti-Bacterial AgentsAnti-Infective AgentsCopperRNA, Ribosomal, 16SAerospace microbiologyAntimicrobial surfacesConfinementIndoor microbiomeISSNanostructured surfacesSpace missionSurface functionalization

Identifiers

PMID41053568
PMCPMC12502293

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.