Research ethics and biosafety

Applied Biofilm Science (ABS) is committed to ensuring that all published research is conducted safely, ethically, and in compliance with international standards. All manuscripts submitted to the journal will be evaluated for compliance with the following ethical and biosafety guidelines.

Failure to provide the necessary ethical declarations or evidence of biosafety compliance may result in the immediate rejection of the manuscript.

1. Biosafety and Handling of Pathogens

Because biofilm research frequently involves opportunistic pathogens, foodborne bacteria, and multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, strict adherence to biosafety protocols is paramount.

• Institutional Compliance: Research involving biohazardous materials, infectious agents, or genetically modified microorganisms must be conducted in appropriate facilities conforming to institutional and national biosafety regulations.

• Biosafety Levels (BSL): For studies involving pathogens that require BSL-2 or BSL-3 facilities, authors must include a statement in the Materials and Methods section confirming that the work was performed under appropriate biosafety containment.

• Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC): If the research involves the creation of highly virulent strains, novel antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, or findings that could be misused to pose a threat to public health or agriculture, the editorial board reserves the right to subject the manuscript to an additional biosecurity review.

2. Human Subjects Research

If the submitted research involves clinical biofilm isolates directly obtained from human patients, clinical trials, human tissue, or medical records, it must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki.

• Ethics Approval: Authors must provide the name of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or local ethics committee that approved the study, along with the approval reference number, in the Materials and Methods section.

• Informed Consent: For research involving human participants, authors must state that written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (or their legal guardians).

• Patient Anonymity: Identifying information (such as patient names, initials, or hospital numbers) must not be published in written descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient has given written informed consent for publication.

3. Animal Subjects Research

Research involving in vivo biofilm models (e.g., animal models for implant infections or wound healing) must be conducted with the highest standards of animal welfare.

• Ethics Approval: The study must be approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent local ethics board. The approval number must be stated in the manuscript.

• Welfare Guidelines: We strongly encourage authors to comply with the ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) to improve the design, analysis, and reporting of animal research.

• The 3Rs: Authors should demonstrate adherence to the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) in their experimental design.

4. Food, Environmental, and Industrial Sampling

Studies investigating biofilms in food processing plants, agricultural settings, or public water systems must adhere to appropriate sampling ethics.

• Permissions: Authors must state that they had the necessary permissions to access and sample the industrial or environmental sites described in the study. If the exact location of a food facility cannot be disclosed due to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), authors must still describe the general type of facility and processing environment to ensure scientific reproducibility.

• Strain Provenance: For environmental or foodborne isolates (e.g., Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter), authors must clearly document the origin of the strains, isolation dates, and isolation methods.

5. Statement Formatting in the Manuscript

Authors are required to include an "Ethics and Biosafety Statement" directly before the References section of their manuscript.

Example Statements:

• "The human clinical trial described in this study was approved by the [Institution Name] Institutional Review Board (Protocol #12345). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants."

• "All animal experiments were approved by the [Institution Name] Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #6789) and performed in accordance with national animal welfare guidelines."

• "All experimental procedures involving multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa were conducted in a certified Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) facility in accordance with [Institution/National] biosafety regulations."