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Soffritti I, D’Accolti M, Bini F, Mazziga E, Volta A, Bisi M, Rossi S, Viroli F, Balzani M, Petitta M, Mazzacane S, Caselli E. Characterization of the Pathogenic Potential of the Beach Sand Microbiome and Assessment of Quicklime as a Remediation Tool. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2031. [PMID: 37630591 PMCID: PMC10460030 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11082031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Beach sand may act as a reservoir for potential human pathogens, posing a public health risk. Despite this, the microbiological monitoring of sand microbiome is rarely performed to determine beach quality. In this study, the sand microbial population of a Northern Adriatic Sea beach sand was profiled by microbiological (CFU counts) and molecular methods (WGS, microarray), showing significant presence of potential human pathogens including drug-resistant strains. Consistent with these results, the potential of quicklime as a restoring method was tested in vitro and on-field. Collected data showed that adding 1-3% quicklime (w/w) to sand provided an up to -99% of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, in a dose- and time-dependent manner, till 45 days post-treatment. In conclusion, data suggest that accurate monitoring of sand microbiome may be essential, besides water, to assess beach quality and safety. Moreover, first evidences of quicklime potential for sand decontamination are provided, suggesting its usage as a possible way to restore the microbiological quality of sand in highly contaminated areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Soffritti
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (I.S.); (M.D.); (F.B.); (E.M.)
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
| | - Maria D’Accolti
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (I.S.); (M.D.); (F.B.); (E.M.)
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
| | - Francesca Bini
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (I.S.); (M.D.); (F.B.); (E.M.)
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
| | - Eleonora Mazziga
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (I.S.); (M.D.); (F.B.); (E.M.)
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
| | - Antonella Volta
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
| | - Matteo Bisi
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
| | - Silvia Rossi
- Building and Construction Cluster of the Emilia Romagna Region, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Francesco Viroli
- TekneHub, Department of Architecture, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (F.V.); (M.B.)
| | - Marcello Balzani
- TekneHub, Department of Architecture, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (F.V.); (M.B.)
| | - Marco Petitta
- Department of Earth Sciences, University “La Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Sante Mazzacane
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
| | - Elisabetta Caselli
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (I.S.); (M.D.); (F.B.); (E.M.)
- CIAS Research Center, University of Ferrara, 44122 Ferrara, Italy; (A.V.); (M.B.); (S.M.)
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Hu X, Lu C, Tang H, Pouri H, Joulin E, Zhang J. Active Food Packaging Made of Biopolymer-Based Composites. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 16:279. [PMID: 36614617 PMCID: PMC9821968 DOI: 10.3390/ma16010279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Food packaging plays a vital role in protecting food products from environmental damage and preventing contamination from microorganisms. Conventional food packaging made of plastics produced from unrenewable fossil resources is hard to degrade and poses a negative impact on environmental sustainability. Natural biopolymers are attracting interest for reducing environmental problems to achieve a sustainable society, because of their abundance, biocompatibility, biodegradability, chemical stability, and non-toxicity. Active packaging systems composed of these biopolymers and biopolymer-based composites go beyond simply acting as a barrier to maintain food quality. This review provides a comprehensive overview of natural biopolymer materials used as matrices for food packaging. The antioxidant, water barrier, and oxygen barrier properties of these composites are compared and discussed. Furthermore, biopolymer-based composites integrated with antimicrobial agents-such as inorganic nanostructures and natural products-are reviewed, and the related mechanisms are discussed in terms of antimicrobial function. In summary, composites used for active food packaging systems can inhibit microbial growth and maintain food quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanjun Hu
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
| | - Chao Lu
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
| | - Howyn Tang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
| | - Hossein Pouri
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
| | - Etienne Joulin
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
| | - Jin Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
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