Application of ultraviolet light assisted titanium dioxide photocatalysis for food safety: A review

Abstract

UV-assisted TiO 2 photocatalysis (TUV) is an emerging non-thermal technology that has shown to efficiently inactivate food-borne pathogens. While TUV processing has been a wellestablished technique for water and wastewater treatment, its application in the food industry is minimal. The basic working principle underlying TUV technology is the photocatalytic production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that carry out redox reactions with species adsorbed on the TiO 2 surface. Studies have confirmed that severe cell damage including destruction of the cytoplasmic membrane, super-coiled plasmid DNA and genomic DNA, and internal organelles occurred when bacteria were exposed to TUV. Recently, TUV has been explored for its applications in surface disinfection and post-harvest disease control of fresh produce, pasteurization of beverages, and anti-microbial food packaging. Although the novel developments in the technology are promising, more research is needed to achieve the practical application of this technology. The intent of this article is to provide an overview of the principles of TUV, the mechanism of microbial inactivation by TUV, and the recent findings on utilization of TUV for microbiological safety of foods and also, to present the prospective opportunities for TUV in the food industry.

Novel Antimicrobial Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes Obtained through a Combination of Atomic Layer Deposition and Electrospinning Technologies

“…TiO 2 has also become the preferred photocatalyst for a variety of reasons, which include its low cost, chemical stability, non-toxicity and effectiveness under near-ultraviolet light (300–400 nm). It is one of the most applied nanomaterials and is widely used as additive in food and non-food applications [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Other TiO 2 nanostructures have been already developed with antimicrobial goals.…”

Photocatalytic effects on the quality of pork packed in the package combined with TiO2 coated nonwoven fabrics

“…Microorganisms in package possess a great threat to the safety of fresh perishable food, and TPC technique is proved to be effective for inactivating microorganisms in foods (Ramesh, Nayak, Amirbahman, Tripp, & Mukhopadhyay, 2016). Foster et al (2011) reported that TPC had the ability to inactive most microorganisms, including gramnegative and grampositive bacteria.…”

Using Photocatalyst Metal Oxides as Antimicrobial Surface Coatings to Ensure Food Safety—Opportunities and Challenges

“…Nano‐sized TiO 2 was reported to kill viruses including poliovirus‐1 (Watts and others ), hepatitis B virus (Zan and others ), herpes simplex virus (Hajkova and others ), and MS2 bacteriophage (Cho and others ). Most recently, Ramesh and others () provided an overview of the potential applications of TiO 2 photocatalysis in the food sector. TiO 2 has been approved by the U.S. FDA for use in human food, drugs, cosmetics, and food contact materials (FDA ).…”