Abstract
Food contact surfaces are primary sources of bacterial contamination in food industry processes. With the objective of preventing bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on surfaces, this study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of silver (Ag-NPs) and zinc oxide (ZnO-NPs) nanoparticle-containing polyester surfaces (concentration range from 400 ppm to 850 ppm) using two kinds of bacteria, Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli), and the prevention of bacterial biofilm formation using the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. The results of antimicrobial efficacy (reductions ≥ 2 log CFU/cm2) showed that at a concentration of 850 ppm, ZnO-NPs were effective against only E. coli (2.07 log CFU/cm2). However, a concentration of 400 ppm of Ag-NPs was effective against E. coli (4.90 log CFU/cm2) and S. aureus (3.84 log CFU/cm2). Furthermore, a combined concentration of 850 ppm Ag-NPs and 400 ppm ZnO-NPs showed high antimicrobial efficacy against E. coli (5.80 log CFU/cm2) and S. aureus (4.11 log CFU/cm2). The results also showed a high correlation between concentration levels and the bacterial activity of Ag–ZnO-NPs (R2 = 0.97 for S. aureus, and R2 = 0.99 for E. coli). They also showed that unlike individual action, the joint action of Ag-NPs and ZnO-NPs has high antimicrobial efficacy for both types of microorganisms. Moreover, Ag-NPs prevent the biofilm formation of L. monocytogenes in humid conditions of growth at concentrations of 500 ppm. Additional studies under different conditions are needed to test the durability of nanoparticle containing polyester surfaces with antimicrobial properties to optimize their use.
Highlights
Bacterial transfer from contaminated food contact surfaces to food products is one of the main emerging public health problems worldwide given that it is a cause of bacterial foodborne outbreaks [1,2].Bacterial cells in contact with surfaces have the ability to adhere, colonize, and form biofilms that increase the risk of bacterial cross-contamination [3,4,5,6]
Our results are in accordance with those observed by Katase and Tsumura [51], Blagoeva et al [52], and Łobacz et al [53], who compared the results of the TEMPO system with the corresponding methods to enumerate total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast and mold, S. aureus, and lactic acid bacteria
Polyester surfaces embedded with zinc oxide and silver oxide nanoparticles showed sufficient, controlled levels of NPs released to avoid bacterial adhesion
Summary
Bacterial cells in contact with surfaces have the ability to adhere, colonize, and form biofilms that increase the risk of bacterial cross-contamination [3,4,5,6]. To this effect, a variety of cleaning and disinfectant products are used to prevent bacterial growth on surfaces [7]. In response to the growing concern about bacterial contamination on food contact or other high-risk surfaces, a significant number of studies in the field of chemical or enzymatic engineering have been undertaken.
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