Combinations of selected non-thermal technologies and antimicrobials for microbial inactivation in a buffer system

Inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria Escherichia coli by electroporation

Introduction

In modern times, bacterial infections have become a growing problem in the medical community due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In fact, the overuse and improper disposal of antibiotics have led to bacterial resistance and the presence of such bacteria in wastewater. Therefore, it is critical to develop effective strategies for dealing with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wastewater. Electroporation has been found to be one of the most promising complementary techniques for bacterial inactivation because it is effective against a wide range of bacteria, is non-chemical and is highly optimizable. Many studies have demonstrated electroporation-assisted inactivation of bacteria, but rarely have clinical antibiotics or bacteria resistant to these antibiotics been used in the study. Therefore, the motivation for our study was to use a treatment regimen that combines antibiotics and electroporation to inactivate antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Methods

We separately combined two antibiotics (tetracycline and chloramphenicol) to which the bacteria are resistant (with a different resistance mode) and electric pulses. We used three different concentrations of antibiotics (40, 80 and 150 µg/ml for tetracycline and 100, 500 and 2000 µg/ml for chloramphenicol, respectively) and four different electric field strengths (5, 10, 15 and 20 kV/cm) for electroporation.

Results and discussion

Our results show that electroporation effectively enhances the effect of antibiotics and inactivates antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The inactivation rate for tetracycline or chloramphenicol was found to be different and to increase with the strength of the pulsed electric field and/or the concentration of the antibiotic. In addition, we show that electroporation has a longer lasting effect (up to 24 hours), making bacteria vulnerable for a considerable time. The present work provides new insights into the use of electroporation to inactivate antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the aquatic environment.

Microbial decontamination assisted by ultrasound-based processing technologies in food and model systems: A review

Ultrasound (US) technology is recognized as one of the emerging technologies that arise from the current trends for improving nutritional and organoleptic properties while providing food safety. However, when applying the US alone, higher power and longer treatment times than conventional thermal treatments are needed to achieve a comparable level of microbial inactivation. This results in risks, damaging food products' composition, structure, or sensory properties, and can lead to higher processing costs. Therefore, the US has often been investigated in combination with other approaches, like heating at mild temperatures and/or treatments at elevated pressure, use of antimicrobial substances, or other emerging technologies (e.g., high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, nonthermal plasma, or microwaves). A combination of US with different approaches has been reported to be less energy and time consuming. This manuscript aims to provide a broad review of the microbial inactivation efficacy of US technology in different food matrices and model systems. In particular, emphasis is given to the US in combination with the two most industrially viable physical processes, that is, heating at mild temperatures and/or treatments at elevated pressure, resulting in techniques known as thermosonication, manosonication, and manothermosonication. The available literature is reviewed, and critically discussed, and potential research gaps are identified. Additionally, discussions on the US's inactivation mechanisms and lethal effects are included. Finally, mathematical modeling approaches of microbial inactivation kinetics due to US-based processing technologies are also outlined. Overall, this review focuses only on the uses of the US and its combinations with other processes relevant to microbial food decontamination.

Exploring thermosonication as non-chemical disinfection technology for strawberries

The scope of this work was to study the efficacy of the combination of sonication at 35 or 130 kHz with three temperature treatments: 20, 50 and 55 ºC, on the population of artificially inoculated Listeria innocua in strawberries, and on their overall quality. Prior in vitro results showed that temperature was the main factor in decreasing L. innocua population: a maximum of 3.8 log reductions was obtained with sonication at 130 kHz and 55 ºC for 15 min Treatments combining—or not—sonication at 130 kHz with mild temperatures (50 and 55 ºC) for 5 or 10 min were able to decrease about 3 log units of artificially inoculated L. innocua in strawberries and about 2 log units of total aerobic mesophilic and yeasts and molds populations naturally occurring in strawberries. Thermosonication treatments did not exert a detrimental impact on fruit quality, except for those at the higher temperatures and times, which caused a change in color to more purplish and a little softening of the strawberries, which were proposed to be assessed for further processing other than fresh commercialization. Overall, the impact of sonication in fresh strawberries needs to be further investigated to find the adequate conditions to enhance the effects of temperature itself.

The effect of ultrasound treatment in combination with nisin on the inactivation of Listeria innocua and Escherichia coli

Ultrasound, alone or in combination with natural antimicrobials, is a novel food processing technology of interest to replace traditional food decontamination methods, as it is milder than classical sterilisation (heat treatment) and maintains desirable sensory characteristics. However, ultrasound efficacy can be affected by food structure/composition, as well as the order in which combined treatments are applied. More specifically, treatments which target different cell components could result in enhanced inactivation if applied in the appropriate order. The microbial properties i.e. Gram positive/Gram negative can also impact the treatment efficacy. This work presents a systematic study of the combined effect of ultrasound and nisin on the inactivation of the bacteria Listeria innocua (Gram positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram negative), at a range of cavitation conditions (44, 500, 1000 kHz). The order of treatment application was varied, and the impact of system structure was also investigated by varying the concentration of Xanthan gum used to create the food model systems (0 - 0.5% w/v). Microbial inactivation kinetics were monitored, and advanced microscopy and flow cytometry techniques were utilised to quantify the impact of treatment on a cellular level. Ultrasound was shown to be effective against E. coli at 500 kHz only, with L. innocua demonstrating resistance to all frequencies studied. Enhanced inactivation of E. coli was observed for the combination of nisin and ultrasound at 500 kHz, but only when nisin was applied before ultrasound treatment. The system structure negatively impacted the inactivation efficacy. The combined effect of ultrasound and nisin on E. coli was attributed to short-lived destabilisation of the outer membrane as a result of sonication, allowing nisin to penetrate the cytoplasmic membrane and facilitate cell inactivation.

Apple Juice Preservation Using Combined Nonthermal Processing and Antimicrobial Packaging

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of pulsed electric fields (PEFs), pulsed UV light (PL), and antimicrobial packaging (AP), either individually or combined, for inactivating bacteria and maintaining the quality of fruit juices. Apple juice samples were inoculated with Escherichia coli K-12 or native molds and yeasts (M&Y), treated with bench-scale PEF and/or PL processing systems, and stored in glass jars with antimicrobial caps containing 10 μL of carvacrol. The reductions in microbial populations and the physicochemical properties of juice samples were determined after treatments and during storage at 10°C. The treatments were PL (5 to 50 s at 1.04 J/cm2/s), PEF (19, 23, and 30 kV/cm), PEF followed by PL (PEF+PL), PL followed by PEF (PL+PEF), and PEF+PL+AP. PEF treatments at 19 to 30 kV/cm (PEF19, PEF23, and PEF30) resulted in 2.0-, 2.6-, and 4.0-log reductions of E. coli, respectively, and PL treatments for 10 to 50 s (PL10, PL20, PL30, PL40, and PL50) resulted in 0.45-, 0.67-, 0.76-, 2.3-, and 4.0-log reductions, respectively. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found between the combined PL20+PEF19 and PEF19+PL20 treatments; both treatments reduced E. coli K-12 populations to nondetectable levels (>5-log reductions) after 7 days. Both PEF+PL and PEF+PL+AP treatments achieved >5-log reductions of M&Y; however, juice samples subjected to PEF+PL+AP treatment had lower M&Y counts (2.9 log units) than did samples subjected to PEF+PL treatment (3.9 log units) after 7 days. No significant differences (P > 0.05) in pH, acidity, and total soluble solids were found among all samples after treatments. Increased PL treatment times reduced color a* and b* values, total phenolics, and carotenoids. This study provides information valuable to juice processors for consideration and design of nonthermal pasteurization of juice products.

HIGHLIGHTS

Shelf life extension of strawberry juice by equivalent ultrasound, high pressure, and pulsed electric fields processes

Nonthermal processing technologies have focused on the production of safe, fresh-like and high quality food products very much in line with current consumer demands. It is a high priority to maintain the quality attributes of the food during its shelf life. In this study; microbial stability, physicochemical properties and phytochemical characteristics of strawberry juice (SJ) pasteurized by ultrasonication (US) (55 °C, 0.29 W/mL acoustic energy density, 120 μm amplitude, 3 min), high pressure processing (HPP) (300 MPa, 1 min), and pulsed electric fields (PEF) (35 kV/cm, 27 μs) were evaluated during 42 days of storage at 4 °C in comparison with conventional thermal pasteurization as a reference treatment (72 °C, 15 s). The nonthermal processes were equivalent in terms of E. coli inactivation since the selected processing conditions previously led to almost identical inactivation level (at least 5-log) of inoculated E. coli. Thus, the current study demonstrates how these equivalent US, HPP, and PEF treatments differ from each other in terms of their effect on SJ natural microbiota and quality characteristics during refrigerated storage. Results showed that US, HPP, and heat treatment ensured the microbial stability of SJ for at least 42 days while PEF extended the shelf life of SJ by at least 28 days based on the natural microbiota. No significant difference was found for the total soluble solids of the processed samples (p > 0.05) whereas acidity and pH of the samples varied during the storage period (p < 0.05). Immediately after processing, the total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of SJ were better retained by HPP and PEF compared to thermal pasteurization. Furthermore, HPP and PEF significantly increased total anthocyanin content of SJ by 15 and 17% with respect to untreated SJ (p < 0.05). Phytochemical characteristics of processed SJ started to decrease after 7 days of storage irrespective of treatment type. HPP treated juices showed significantly higher levels of total anthocyanin and antioxidant activity at the final day of storage. Principal component and cluster analysis showed that the processed SJ samples had higher similarity to the untreated fresh SJ during storage up to 14 days, while the samples beyond this storage period clustered together and discriminated from the rest indicating a decreased similarity to the fresh juice. This study rendered simultaneous evaluation of several quality characteristics during storage of pasteurized strawberry juice based on the equivalent processing approach and multivariate data analysis. Under the selected processing conditions, HPP was the best option to extend the shelf life of SJ and enhance its phytochemical characteristics.

The impact of food model system structure on the inactivation of Listeria innocua by cold atmospheric plasma and nisin combined treatments

Novel processing methods such as cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and natural antimicrobials like nisin, are of interest to replace traditional food decontamination approaches as, due to their mild nature, they can maintain desirable food characteristics, i.e., taste, texture, and nutritional content. However, the microbial growth characteristics (planktonic growth/surface colonies) and/or the food structure itself (liquid/solid surface) can impact the inactivation efficacy of these novel processing methods. More specifically, cells grown as colonies on a solid(like) surface experience a completely different growth environment to cells grown planktonically in liquid, and thus could display a different response to novel processing treatments through stress adaptation and/or cross protection mechanisms. The order in which combined treatments are applied could also impact their efficacy, especially if the mechanisms of action are complementary. This work presents a fundamental study on the efficacy of CAP and nisin, alone and combined, as affected by food system structure. More specifically, Listeria innocua was grown planktonically (liquid broth) or on a viscoelastic Xanthan gum gel system (1.5% w/v) and treated with CAP, nisin, or a combination of the two. Both the inactivation system, i.e., liquid versus solid(like) surface and the growth characteristics, i.e., planktonic versus colony growth, were shown to impact the treatment efficacy. The combination of nisin and CAP was more effective than individual treatments, but only when nisin was applied before the CAP treatment. This study provides insight into the environmental stress response/adaptation of L. innocua grown on structured systems in response to natural antimicrobials and novel processing technologies, and is a step towards the faster delivery of these food decontamination methods from the bench to the food industry.

Antibacterial Effects of Ultrasound, Cinnamon Essential Oil, and Their Combination Against Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium in Milk

The antibacterial effects of ultrasound (US) and cinnamon essential oil (CEO), individually and combined, were investigated against Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium in low- and high-fat milk during 6-day storage. At the end of storage, CEO alone decreased 2 and 2.2 log cycles of Salmonella Typhimurium and 2.5 and 3 log cycles of L. monocytogenes populations in low- and high-fat milk, respectively. US alone reduced 1.6 log cycle of Salmonella Typhimurium and 0.7 log cycle of L. monocytogenes in both milk type. The combined treatment could reduce 2.7 log cycle of Salmonella Typhimurium in low-fat milk and 3.8 log cycle in high-fat milk. The combined treatment also achieved 4.3 and 4.5 log cycle reductions of L. monocytogenes in low- and high-fat milk, respectively. The results of this study showed that the combination of CEO and US could be used as an effective antibacterial treatment in milk. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Due to adverse effects of thermal processing on the sensory and nutritional properties of food and the potentially harmful effects of chemical preservatives, nonthermal preservation methods and natural antimicrobials have been gained much attention. In this study, the antibacterial effects of ultrasound (US) and cinnamon essential oil (CEO), individually and combined, were investigated against Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium in low- and high-fat milk. The results indicated that combination of US and CEO could significantly decrease L. monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium populations in milk. Then, this combined treatment may be used as an effective alternative method to microbial inactivation in milk.

Modelling the microbial dynamics and antimicrobial resistance development of Listeria in viscoelastic food model systems of various structural complexities

Minimal processing for microbial decontamination, such as the use of natural antimicrobials, is gaining interest in the food industry as these methods are generally milder than conventional processing, therefore better maintaining the nutritional content and sensory characteristics of food products. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of (i) structural composition and complexity, (ii) growth location and morphology, and (iii) the natural antimicrobial nisin, on the microbial dynamics of Listeria innocua. More specifically, viscoelastic food model systems of various compositions and internal structure were developed and characterised, i.e. monophasic Xanthan gum-based and biphasic Xanthan gum/Whey protein-based viscoelastic systems. The microbial dynamics of L. innocua at 10 °C, 30 °C and 37 °C were monitored and compared for planktonic growth in liquid, or in/on (immersed or surface colony growth) the developed viscoelastic systems, with or without a sublethal concentration of nisin. Microscopy imaging was used to determine the bacterial colony size and spatial organisation in/on the viscoelastic systems. Selective growth of L. innocua on the protein phase of the developed biphasic system was observed for the first time. Additionally, significant differences were observed in the colony size and distribution in the monophasic Xanthan gum-based systems depending on (i) the type of growth (surface/immersed) and (ii) the Xanthan gum concentration. Furthermore, the system viscosity in monophasic Xanthan gum-based systems had a protective role against the effects of nisin for immersed growth, and a further inhibitory effect for surface growth at a suboptimal temperature (10 °C). These findings give a systematic quantitative insight on the impact of nisin as an environmental challenge on the growth and spatial organisation of L. innocua, in viscoelastic food model systems of various structural compositions/complexities. This study highlights the importance of accounting for system structural composition/complexity when designing minimal food processing methods with natural antimicrobials.

Effect of heat-assisted pulsed electric fields and bacteriophage on enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

Pulsed electric fields (PEF), heat-assisted PEF (H-PEF), and virulent bacteriophage (VP) are non-thermal techniques for pathogen inactivation in liquids that were investigated individually, and in combination (PEF/VP, H-PEF/VP) to control enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 in Luria-Bertani broth (LBB) and Ringer's solution (RS). Treated cells were subsequently incubated at refrigeration (4°C) and temperature-abuse conditions (12°C) for 5 days. When EHEC cells grown in LBB were subjected to non-thermal processing and subsequently stored at 12°C for 5 days, reductions in count of between 0.1 and 0.6 log cycles were observed and following storage at 4°C the decrease in counts varied between 0.2 and 1.1 log10 . For bacteria cells suspended in RS values ranged from 0.1 to ≥3.9 log cycles at both storage temperatures. The most effective treatments were H-PEF and H-PEF/VP, both producing a >3.4 log cycle reduction of cells suspended in non-nutrient RS. Analysis of EHEC recovery on selective and non-selective media indicated no occurrence of sub-lethal damage for VP, PEF/VP, and H-PEF/VP-treated cells. The findings indicate that combining PEF and lytic phage may represent a suitable alternative to conventional fluid decontamination following further process optimization.

Study of the inactivation of spoilage microorganisms in apple juice by pulsed light and ultrasound

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ultrasound (US) (600 W, 20 kHz and 95.2 μm wave amplitude; 10 or 30 min at 20, 30 or 44 ± 1 °C) and pulsed light (PL) (Xenon lamp; 3 pulses/s; 0.1 m distance; 2.4 J/cm(2)-71.6 J/cm(2); initial temperature 2, 30, 44 ± 1 °C) on the inactivation of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris ATCC 49025 spores and Saccharomyces cerevisiae KE162 inoculated in commercial (pH: 3.5; 12.5 °Brix) and natural squeezed (pH: 3.4; 11.8 °Brix) apple juices. Inactivation depended on treatment time, temperature, microorganism and matrix. Combination of these technologies led up to 3.0 log cycles of spore reduction in commercial apple juice and 2.0 log cycles in natural juice; while for S. cerevisiae, 6.4 and 5.8 log cycles of reduction were achieved in commercial and natural apple juices, respectively. In natural apple juice, the combination of US + 60 s PL at the highest temperature build-up (56 ± 1 °C) was the most effective treatment for both strains. In commercial apple juice, US did not contribute to further inactivation of spores, but significantly reduced yeast population. Certain combinations of US + PL kept on good microbial stability under refrigerated conditions for 15 days.