Durable superhydrophobic coatings for stainless-steel: An effective defense against Escherichia coli and Listeria fouling in the post-harvest environment.
Food Res Int
; 173(Pt 1): 113227, 2023 11.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37803546
ABSTRACT
Increasing concerns revolve around bacterial cross-contamination of leafy green vegetables via food-contact surfaces. Given that stainless-steel is among the commonly used food-contact surfaces, this study reports a coating strategy enhancing its hygiene and microbiological safety through an antifouling approach via superhydrophobicity. The developed method involves growing a nickel-nanodiamond nanocomposite film on 304 stainless-steel via electroplating and sequential functionalization of the outer surface layer with nonpolar organosilane molecules via polydopamine moieties. The resultant superhydrophobic stainless-steel surfaces had a static water contact angle of 156.3 ± 1.9° with only 2.3 ± 0.5° contact angle hysteresis. Application of the coating to stainless-steel was demonstrated to yield 2.3 ± 0.6 log10 and 2.0 ± 0.9 log10 reductions in the number of adherent gram-negative Escherichia coli O157H7 and gram-positive Listeria innocua cells, respectively. These population reductions were shown to be statistically significant (α = 0.05). Coated stainless-steel also resisted fouling when contacted with contaminated romaine lettuce leaves and maintained significant non-wetting character when abraded with sand or contacted with high concentration surfactant solutions. The incorporation of superhydrophobic stainless-steel surfaces into food processing equipment used for washing and packaging leafy green vegetables has the potential to mitigate the transmission of pathogenic bacteria within food production facilities.
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Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Escherichia coli O157
/
Listeria
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article