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Nanostructured antibacterial aluminum foil produced by hot water treatment against E. coli in meat

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Abstract

Antibiotic resistance has been on the rise due to the overuse of antibiotics in the agricultural industry. This has led to an increase in foodborne illnesses and a need for alternative modes of action to help mitigate bacterial growth. This study broaches the potential applications of hot water-treated (HWT) aluminum foil for use in the food packaging industry. Through HWT, a layer of aluminum oxide nanostructures is formed on the surface of the foil, which conveys antibacterial properties. Here, we demonstrate the efficacy of HWT aluminum foil in preventing bacterial growth of Escherichia coli on red meat. Aluminum foil samples were treated in hot water at different temperatures including 75 °C, 85 °C, and 95 °C. It was found that HWT foils were 95–100% effective in preventing bacterial growth, while the efficacy of untreated foil was only ~ 30%. Enhanced efficacy of HWT samples is believed to be due to improved release of reactive oxygen species from high surface area aluminum oxide nanostructures and a physical rapturing mechanism associated with the penetration of nanostructures through the bacteria membrane. This research presents a nontoxic, cost-effective means of curbing foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Arkansas Research Alliance for their support and the UALR Nanotechnology Center for their assistance with SEM imaging. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views and policy of the US Food and Drug Administration. Reference to any commercial materials, equipment, or process does not in any way constitute approval, endorsement, or recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration. Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, 72204, USA

    Quinshell Smith, Nawzat Saadi, Atikur Rahman, Khalidah Al-Mayalee & Tansel Karabacak

  2. Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR, 72079, USA

    Khulud Alotaibi & Ashraf A. Khan

  3. Department of Biology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, 72204, USA

    Quinshell Smith, Kenneth Burnett, Khulud Alotaibi & Nawab Ali

  4. Department of Biology, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Khulud Alotaibi

  5. Department of Physics, Faculty of Education for Girls, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq

    Khalidah Al-Mayalee

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  1. Quinshell Smith
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  2. Kenneth Burnett
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  3. Nawzat Saadi
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  4. Khulud Alotaibi
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  6. Khalidah Al-Mayalee
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  7. Nawab Ali
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  8. Ashraf A. Khan
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  9. Tansel Karabacak
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Correspondence to Quinshell Smith.

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Smith, Q., Burnett, K., Saadi, N. et al. Nanostructured antibacterial aluminum foil produced by hot water treatment against E. coli in meat. MRS Advances 6, 695–700 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-021-00112-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-021-00112-2

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