Cross-contamination of foods with pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites may occur at any point in the farm to fork continuum. Food contact and nonfood contact surfaces are the most frequent source of microbial cross-contamination. In the wake of new and emerging food safety challenges, including antibioticresistant human pathogens, conventional sanitation and disinfection practices may not be sufficient to ensure safe food processing, proper preparation, and also not be environmentally friendly. Nanotechnology-enabled novel food safety interventions have a great potential to mitigate the risk of microbial cross-contamination in the food chain. Especially engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are increasingly finding novel applications as antimicrobial agents. Among various ENPs, photocatalyst metal oxides have shown great promise as effective nontargeted disinfectants over a wide range of microorganisms. The present review provides an overview of antimicrobial properties of various photocatalyst metal oxides and their potential applications as surface coatings. Further, this review discusses the most common approaches to developing antimicrobial coatings, methods to characterize, test, and evaluate antimicrobial efficacy as well as the physical stability of the coatings. Finally, regulations and challenges concerning the use of these novel photocatalytic antimicrobial coatings are also discussed.

TiO 2 is a promising photocatalyst for use in food processing environment as an antimicrobial coating. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different binding agents on the physical stability and bactericidal property of TiO 2 nanocoatings created on stainless steel surfaces. A total of six different coating suspensions were prepared by mixing TiO 2 (Aeroxide ® P-25) nanoparticles (NPs) with three different types of binders (Shellac (A), polyuretahne (B), and polycrylic (C)) at a 1:4 to 1:16 NP to binder weight ratio. Bactericidal activity of these TiO 2 coatings against Escherichia coli O157:H7 (5-strain) was determined at three different UV-A light intensities (0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 mW/cm 2 ) for 3 h. The type of binder used in the coating had a significant effect on the log reduction of E.coli O157:H7. TiO 2 coatings with binder C showed highest reduction (> 4 log CFU/cm 2 ) followed by TiO 2 coating with binder B and A. Increasing the binder concentration in the formulation from a 1:4 to 1:16 weight ratio decreased the log reduction of E.coli O157:H7. Increasing the UV-A light intensity from 0.25 to 0.75 mW/cm 2 increased the log reduction of bacteria for all the TiO 2 coatings. The physical stability of the TiO 2 coatings was determined using ASTM procedures. TiO 2 coatings with binder B showed highest adhesion strength and scratch hardness when compared to coatings with other binders. However, on repeated use experiments (1, 3, 5, and 10 times), TiO 2 coatings with binder C were found to be physically more stable and able to retain their original bactericidal property. The results of this study showed promise in developing durable TiO 2 coatings with strong photocatalytic bactericidal property on food contact surfaces using appropriate binding agents to help ensure safe food processing environment.

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Titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) is a well-known photocatalyst for its excellent bactericidal property under UVA light. The purpose of this study was to develop physically stable TiO2 coatings on food contact surfaces using different binding agents and develop methods to evaluate their durability and microbicidal property. Several types of organic and inorganic binders such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polyurethane, polycrylic, sodium and potassium silicates, shellac resin, and other commercial binders were used at 1:1 to 1:16 nanoparticle to binder weight ratios to develop a formulation for TiO2 coating on stainless steel surfaces. Among the tested binders, polyurethane, polycrylic, and shellac resin were found to be physically more stable when used in TiO2 coating at 1:4 to 1:16 weight ratio. The physical stability of TiO2 coatings was determined using adhesion strength and scratch hardness tests by following standard ASTM procedures. Further, wear resistance of the coatings was evaluated based on a simulated cleaning procedure used in food processing environments. TiO2 coating with polyurethane at a 1:8 nanoparticle to binder weight ratio showed the highest scratch hardness (1.08 GPa) followed by coating with polycrylic (0.68 GPa) and shellac (0.14 GPa) binders. Three different techniques, namely direct spreading, glass cover-slip, and indented coupon were compared to determine the photocatalytic bactericidal property of TiO2 coatings against Escherichia coli 0157:H7 at 2 mW/cm(2) UVA light intensity. Under the tested conditions, the indented coupon technique was found to be the most appropriate method to determine the bactericidal property of TiO2 coatings and showed a reduction of 3.5 log CFU/cm(2) in 2 h.

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