Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Selenium Nanoparticles against Food-Borne Pathogens

Abstract

Selenium is an essential micronutrient for all mammals and plays an important role in maintaining human physiological functions. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have been shown to demonstrate antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. The objective of this study was to explore whether SeNPs have the potential to be used as food preservatives with which to reduce food spoilage. SeNPs were synthesized through ascorbic acid reduction of sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a capping and stabilizing agent. The chemically synthesized SeNPs had a spherical conformation with an average diameter of 22.8 ± 4.7 nm. FTIR analysis confirmed that the nanoparticles were covered with BSA. We further tested the antibacterial activity of these SeNPs against ten common food-borne bacteria. A colony-forming unit assay showed that SeNPs exhibited inhibition on the growth of Listeria Monocytogens (ATCC15313) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 700583) starting at 0.5 µg/mL, but higher concentrations were required to slow down the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC12600), Vibrio alginolyticus (ATCC 33787), and Salmonella enterica (ATCC19585). No inhibition was observed on the growth of the other five test bacteria in our study. Our data suggested that the chemically synthesized SeNPs were able to inhibit the growth of some food-borne bacteria. The size and shape of SeNPs, method of synthesis, and combination of SeNPs with other food preservatives should be considered when SeNPs are to be used for the prevention of bacteria-mediated food spoilage.

Comparative Bioactivity Analysis of Green-Synthesized Metal (Cobalt, Copper, and Selenium) Nanoparticles

“…The size, shape, and surface charge of CoNPs can enhance their interaction with bacteria, resulting in increased antibacterial activity [ 21 ]. SeNPs also exhibit antibacterial capabilities; however, they may not be as efficient as CoNPs in producing ZOIs [ 22 ]. This variation could be attributed to changes in the mechanism of action, with SeNPs potentially exhibiting less reactivity or a decreased affinity for binding to bacterial cells.…”

Antimicrobial Activity of Two Different Types of Silver Nanoparticles against Wide Range of Pathogenic Bacteria

“…Some authors demonstrated that a high surface area allows an enhanced antimicrobial effect [ 40 ]. The charge status of NPs also has a significant impact on their affinity to bacterial cell membranes and their subsequent entry into the bacteria [ 41 ]. The current study found that AgNPs-1 possesses a higher contact surface area and a zeta potential below −30 mV, which indicates its high stability.…”

Cytocompatibility, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of a Mucoadhesive Biopolymeric Hydrogel Embedding Selenium Nanoparticles Phytosynthesized by Sea Buckthorn Leaf Extract

“…It has been reported that until a nutritional plateau is reached, Se is specifically incorporated into selenoproteins, while at higher concentrations, excess Se becomes toxic through nonspecific incorporation, which leads to the formation of selenylated proteins that destabilize reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis [ 74 ]. By colony-forming unit (CFU) analysis after SeNPs treatment, it was reported in a previous study that in the case of S. aureus , the CFU at 0 µg/mL SeNPs was 68.0 ± 11.5 and decreased to 57.8 ± 13.4 after 0.5 µg/mL SeNPs treatment, followed by an increase up to 74.4 ± 9.8 at 1 µg/mL SeNPs, with a subsequent decrease down to 51.8 ± 11.3 at 2.5 µg/mL SeNPs, then reaching 63.0 ± 17.3 at 5 µg/mL SeNPs with a significant decrease down to 39.2 ± 5.7 at 10 µg/mL [ 75 ]. However, even if there were some interesting variations, the effect noted in the aforementioned research was not statistically significant up to 10 µg/mL SeNPs.…”