Development and characterization of anti-biofilm coatings applied by Non-Equilibrium Atmospheric Plasma on stainless steel

Paula Fernández-Gómez; Ignacio Muro-Fraguas; Rodolfo Múgica-Vidal; Ana Sainz-García; Elisa Sainz-García; Montserrat González-Raurich; Avelino Álvarez-Ordóñez; Miguel Prieto; Mercedes López; María López; Paula Toledano; Yolanda Sáenz; Ana González-Marcos; Fernando Alba-Elías

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109891

Development and characterization of anti-biofilm coatings applied by Non-Equilibrium Atmospheric Plasma on stainless steel

Food Res Int. 2022 Feb:152:109891. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109891. Epub 2020 Nov 10.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, León, Spain. Electronic address: pafeg@unileon.es.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: ignacio.muro@unirioja.es.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: rodolfo.mugica@unirioja.es.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: ana.sainz@unirioja.es.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: elisa.sainzg@unirioja.es.
⁶ Department of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, León, Spain. Electronic address: mmgonr@unileon.es.
⁷ Department of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, León, Spain. Electronic address: aalvo@unileon.es.
⁸ Department of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, León, Spain. Electronic address: miguel.prieto@unileon.es.
⁹ Department of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, León, Spain. Electronic address: mmlopf@unileon.es.
¹⁰ Molecular Microbiology Area, Center for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR), Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: mlopezm@riojasalud.es.
¹¹ Molecular Microbiology Area, Center for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR), Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: ptoledano@riojasalud.es.
¹² Molecular Microbiology Area, Center for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR), Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: ysaenz@riojasalud.es.
¹³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: ana.gonzalez@unirioja.es.
¹⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain. Electronic address: fernando.alba@unirioja.es.

PMID: 35181104
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109891

Abstract

Biofilm-mediated microbial persistence of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria is a serious problem in food industries. Due to the difficulty of removing mature biofilms, great efforts are being made to find new strategies to prevent bacterial adherence to surfaces, the first step for biofilm development. In this study, coatings of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and acrylic acid (AA) were applied by Non-Equilibrium Atmospheric Plasma on stainless steel (SS) AISI 316, the SS most commonly used in food industry equipment. Their anti-biofilm activity was assessed against Listeria monocytogenes CECT911 and Escherichia coli CECT515 after incubation at 37 °C. The best results were obtained for L. monocytogenes, with coatings consisting of a base coating of APTES and a functional coating of TEOS (AP10 + TE6) or AA (AP10 + AA6) that reduced biofilm production by 45% and 74%, respectively, when compared with the uncoated SS. These coatings were further characterized, together with a variation of the best one that replaced the acrylic acid with succinic acid (AP10 + SA6). Their anti-biofilm activity was assessed under different incubation conditions, including two strains of L. monocytogenes isolated from processing environments of a meat industry. The coating AP10 + AA6 reduced the biofilm formation by 90% after incubation at 12 °C, a temperature more representative of those commonly found in food processing environments. The morphological and physico-chemical characterization of the selected coatings showed that the coating with the highest anti-biofilm activity (i.e., AP10 + AA6) had lower surface roughness and higher hydrophilicity. This suggests that the formation of a hydration layer prevents the adherence of L. monocytogenes, an effect that seems to be enhanced by low temperature conditions, when the wettability of the strains is increased.

Keywords: Anti-biofilm coatings; Atmospheric pressure cold plasma; Hydration layer; Listeria monocytogenes; Plasma-polymerization; Stainless steel; Surface modification.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biofilms
Food Microbiology
Food-Processing Industry
Listeria monocytogenes*
Stainless Steel*

Substances

Stainless Steel