Antimicrobial and antifouling polymeric coating mitigates persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm

• Published in: Biofouling (Chur, Switzerland) Vol. 35; no. 7; pp. 785 - 795
• Main Authors: Werner, Brenda G., Wu, Julia Y., Goddard, Julie M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 09-08-2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antifouling; Antifouling coatings; Antifouling substances; antimicrobial; biofilm; Biofilms; Cell density; Cleaning; Coatings; Contamination; Electron microscopy; Fish spoilage; Food; Food cans; Food contamination; Food processing; Food spoilage; Food supply; Food waste; Foods; Industrial wastes; Lasers; polymer coating; Polymer coatings; Polypropylene; Post-production processing; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - drug effects; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - physiology; Security; Spoilage; Sustainability; Viability; antimicrobial; Antifouling; food waste; polymer coating; biofilm
• ISSN: 0892-7014; 1029-2454
• DOI: 10.1080/08927014.2019.1660774

Food wasted due to food spoilage remains a global challenge to the environmental sustainability and security of food supply. In food manufacturing, post-processing contamination of food can occur due to persistent bacterial biofilms, which can be resistant to conventional cleaning and sanitization. The objective was to characterize the efficacy of a polymeric coating in reducing Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm establishment and facilitating its removal. Viable cell density of a 48 h biofilm was reduced by 2.10 log cfu cm
−2
on the coated surface, compared to native polypropylene. Confocal laser scanning and electron microscopy indicated reductions in mature biofilm viability and thickness on the coated material. The antifouling coating improved cleanability, with ∼2.5 log cfu cm
−2
of viable cells remaining after 105 min cleaning by water at 65 °C, compared to 4.5 log cfu cm
−2
remaining on native polypropylene. Such coatings may reduce the persistence of biofilms in food processing environments, in support of reducing food spoilage and waste