Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (608 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Process by which unwanted microbial, plant or animal materials or organisms accumulate on man-made surfaces.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Ecological and Environmental Phenomena; Environmental Pollution; Equipment Contamination
- See also
- Biofilms
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 3,937 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Biofouling” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 1,952 of them (49.6%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 2,006 records.
Reviews account for 315 records (8.0%) and meta-analyses for 1. Randomized controlled trials number 0 (0.0%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 40 |
| 2010-2019 | 2,006 |
| 2020 onward | 1,952 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 315 | 8.0% |
| Meta-analyses | 1 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 0 | 0.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Biofouling"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in public health and nutrition
Population and nutrition studies mostly observe what people eat, breathe or are exposed to and then look for links with health, which shows association and not proof of cause. Self-reported diet is imprecise, people who eat or live differently also differ in other ways, and effects measured across a population may not apply to one person. Check the study design, how exposure was measured, what else was accounted for and the size of the effect, not only whether it was statistically significant.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antifouling (Bio)materials for Electrochemical (Bio)sensing | 2019 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 93 | cc by PMID 30669466 · DOI · PMC6358752 |
| Antifouling graphene oxide membranes for oil-water separation via hydrophobic chain engineering | 2022 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 66 | cc by PMID 36443300 · DOI · PMC9705527 |
| Fouling-resistant biofilter of an anaerobic electrochemical membrane reactor | 2019 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 54 | cc by PMID 31649273 · DOI · PMC6813349 |
| Surface Interactions between an Eco-Friendly Antifouling Agent and Pseudoalteromonas tunicata Membrane | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 41789730 · DOI · PMC12997153 |
Antifouling (Bio)materials for Electrochemical (Bio)sensing [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- (Bio)fouling processes arising from nonspecific adsorption of biological materials (mainly proteins but also cells and oligonucleotides), reaction products of neurotransmitters oxidation, and precipitation/polymerization of phenolic compounds, have detrimental effects on reliable electrochemical (bio)sensing of relevant analytes and markers either directly or after prolonged incubation in rich-proteins samples or at extreme pH values.
- Closing excerpt
- Opportunities, unmet challenges, and future prospects in this field are also pointed out.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (173 words)
(Bio)fouling processes arising from nonspecific adsorption of biological materials (mainly proteins but also cells and oligonucleotides), reaction products of neurotransmitters oxidation, and precipitation/polymerization of phenolic compounds, have detrimental effects on reliable electrochemical (bio)sensing of relevant analytes and markers either directly or after prolonged incubation in rich-proteins samples or at extreme pH values. Therefore, the design of antifouling (bio)sensing interfaces capable to minimize these undesired processes is a substantial outstanding challenge in electrochemical biosensing. For this purpose, efficient antifouling strategies involving the use of carbon materials, metallic nanoparticles, catalytic redox couples, nanoporous electrodes, electrochemical activation, and (bio)materials have been proposed so far. In this article, biomaterial-based strategies involving polymers, hydrogels, peptides, and thiolated self-assembled monolayers are reviewed and critically discussed. The reported strategies have been shown to be successful to overcome (bio)fouling in a diverse range of relevant practical applications. We highlight recent examples for the reliable sensing of particularly fouling analytes and direct/continuous operation in complex biofluids or harsh environments. Opportunities, unmet challenges, and future prospects in this field are also pointed out.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30669466 · DOI · PMC6358752
Antifouling graphene oxide membranes for oil-water separation via hydrophobic chain engineering [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Engineering surface chemistry to precisely control interfacial interactions is crucial for fabricating superior antifouling coatings and separation membranes.
- Closing excerpt
- The as-prepared membrane exhibits superior antifouling efficacy (flux decline ratio -2 h-1 bar-1) for oil-water separation.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (143 words)
Engineering surface chemistry to precisely control interfacial interactions is crucial for fabricating superior antifouling coatings and separation membranes. Here, we present a hydrophobic chain engineering strategy to regulate membrane surface at a molecular scale. Hydrophilic phytic acid and hydrophobic perfluorocarboxylic acids are sequentially assembled on a graphene oxide membrane to form an amphiphilic surface. The surface energy is reduced by the introduction of the perfluoroalkyl chains while the surface hydration can be tuned by changing the hydrophobic chain length, thus synergistically optimizing both fouling-resistance and fouling-release properties. It is found that the surface hydration capacity changes nonlinearly as the perfluoroalkyl chain length increases from C4 to C10, reaching the highest at C6 as a result of the more uniform water orientation as demonstrated by molecular dynamics simulations. The as-prepared membrane exhibits superior antifouling efficacy (flux decline ratio -2 h-1 bar-1) for oil-water separation.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 36443300 · DOI · PMC9705527
Fouling-resistant biofilter of an anaerobic electrochemical membrane reactor [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Membrane fouling is a considerable challenge for the stable operation of anaerobic membrane-based bioreactors.
- Closing excerpt
- The membrane has high electron storage and transfer capacities to accelerate the oxidation of the intercepted fouling materials, especially, the redundant EPSs of the biofilter layer.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (154 words)
Membrane fouling is a considerable challenge for the stable operation of anaerobic membrane-based bioreactors. Membrane used as a cathode is a common measure to retard fouling growth in anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactors (AnEMBR), which; however, cannot avoid the fouling growth. Here we report a strategy using the membrane as an anode to resist membrane fouling in an AnEMBR. Although aggravating in the initial stage, the fouling on the anode membrane is gradually alleviated by the anode oxidation with enriching exoelectrogens to finally achieve a dynamic equilibrium between fouling growth and decomposition to maintain the operation stable. A mesh-like biofilter layer composed of cells with less extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) is formed on the membrane surface to lower the trans-membrane pressure and promote the interception of the anode membrane. The membrane has high electron storage and transfer capacities to accelerate the oxidation of the intercepted fouling materials, especially, the redundant EPSs of the biofilter layer.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31649273 · DOI · PMC6813349
Surface Interactions between an Eco-Friendly Antifouling Agent and Pseudoalteromonas tunicata Membrane [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- In this work, we investigated the interfacial chemistry of our recently developed antifouling polyphenolic small molecule (GBA26) directly with bacterial membrane models and the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata.
- Closing excerpt
- Altogether, these results shed light on its antibiofilm mechanism against this marine bacterium.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (138 words)
In this work, we investigated the interfacial chemistry of our recently developed antifouling polyphenolic small molecule (GBA26) directly with bacterial membrane models and the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata. Different Langmuir lipid monolayer models were constructed to mimic the interface of bacterial membranes. Surface pressure-area isotherms showed that GBA26 interacted with assembled lipid monolayers, and this interaction was influenced by the phospholipid composition. GBA26 was also able to interact with monolayers of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extracted from P. tunicata. The morphology of the monolayer was also analyzed using Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), showing that GBA26 reduced lipid domains' condensation levels. Flow cytometry data indicated that GBA26 disrupts cell membranes and reduces the metabolic activity of P. tunicata, without inducing ROS formation. Furthermore, GBA26 significantly decreased bacterial culturability. Altogether, these results shed light on its antibiofilm mechanism against this marine bacterium.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41789730 · DOI · PMC12997153
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Trends in the development of environmentally friendly fouling-resistant marine coatings [5]
- Research article Fouling release coatings: a nontoxic alternative to biocidal antifouling coatings [6]
- Research article Antifouling Strategies for Selective In Vitro and In Vivo Sensing [7]
- Research article The impact and control of biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review [8]
- Research article Antifouling strategies: history and regulation, ecological impacts and mitigation [9]
- Research article Natural products as antifouling compounds: recent progress and future perspectives [10]
References
- Campuzano S, Pedrero M, Yáñez-Sedeño P, Pingarrón JM. Antifouling (Bio)materials for Electrochemical (Bio)sensing. . 2019. PMID 30669466 · DOI · PMC6358752
- Yang C, Long M, Ding C, Zhang R, Zhang S, Yuan J, et al.. Antifouling graphene oxide membranes for oil-water separation via hydrophobic chain engineering. . 2022. PMID 36443300 · DOI · PMC9705527
- Yu Q, Zhang Y. Fouling-resistant biofilter of an anaerobic electrochemical membrane reactor. . 2019. PMID 31649273 · DOI · PMC6813349
- Gomes AS, Nunes C, Teixeira-Santos R, Romeu M, Alfieri ML, M M Cravo S, et al.. Surface Interactions between an Eco-Friendly Antifouling Agent and Pseudoalteromonas tunicata Membrane. . 2026. PMID 41789730 · DOI · PMC12997153
- Callow JA, Callow ME. Trends in the development of environmentally friendly fouling-resistant marine coatings. Nat Commun. 2011. PMID 21427715 · DOI
- Lejars M, Margaillan A, Bressy C. Fouling release coatings: a nontoxic alternative to biocidal antifouling coatings. Chem Rev. 2012. PMID 22578131 · DOI
- Jiang C, Wang G, Hein R, Liu N, Luo X, Davis JJ. Antifouling Strategies for Selective In Vitro and In Vivo Sensing. Chem Rev. 2020. PMID 32202761 · DOI
- Fitridge I, Dempster T, Guenther J, de Nys R. The impact and control of biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review. Biofouling. 2012. PMID 22775076 · DOI
- Dafforn KA, Lewis JA, Johnston EL. Antifouling strategies: history and regulation, ecological impacts and mitigation. Mar Pollut Bull. 2011. PMID 21324495 · DOI
- Qian PY, Xu Y, Fusetani N. Natural products as antifouling compounds: recent progress and future perspectives. Biofouling. 2010. PMID 19960389 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.