title: Preventing adhesion of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium LT2 on tomato surfaces via ultrathin polyethylene glycol film.
abstract: This work deals with adhesion of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 (S. Typhimurium LT2) on polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated tomato surfaces. PEG coating was characterized by water contact angle technique, scanning electron microscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. It was shown that PEG films could physisorb on the tomato surfaces after the oxygen plasma treatment, which made some outermost layers of the surfaces hydrophilic. Bacterial adhesion on PEG coated tomato surface was studied by standard plate count, fluorescence microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Fully covered PEG film reduced the bacterial attachment 90% or more in comparison to the bare tomato surface. The degree of bacterial attachment decreased exponentially with increasing PEG coverage. When desired, PEG film could be removed by rinsing with water. Overall, this work demonstrates the proof-of-concept that an ultrathin film of polyethylene glycol may be used to effectively inhibit the attachment of pathogenic bacteria on tomato surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77943-3144.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122.
authors.forename: Sasikiran
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pasupuleti
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3003.
authors.forename: Jun Kyun
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122.
authors.forename: Nandita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kohli
authors.affiliation: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122.
authors.forename: I-Syuan
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2253.
authors.forename: Keila
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77943-3144.
authors.forename: Stanislav V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Verkhoturov
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77943-3144.
authors.forename: Emile A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Schweikert
authors.affiliation: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122.
authors.forename: Arul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jayaraman
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3244.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cisneros-Zevallos
authors.affiliation: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3003. Electronic address: makbulut@tamu.ed.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akbulut
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000502:physiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D005638:Fruit / Q000382:microbiology; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000382:microbiology*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
keywords: Anti-adhesion; Bacterial adhesion; Edible coating; Fresh Produce; Polymer film