Characterization of plasma treated surfaces for food safety by terahertz spectroscopy

Abstract

A physico-chemical approach to modify surfaces not only for use in medicine, but also for preservation of food is nowadays widely studied to lower the risks of increased number of bacterial pathogens that are in a direct contact with people. Food safety is very important part of preserving sustainability during crises, especially after the enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli outbreak in Europe in 2011. One of the possibility how we can protect food against various pathogens is the modification of packing materials that are directly in contact with preserved food. This contribution deals with the characterization of modified surfaces with antibacterial properties via Terahertz spectroscopy. For the purpose of this paper, three monomers were used for grafting onto air radiofrequency plasma activated low density polyethylene surface, which created a brush-like structure. Next, the antibacterial agents, Irgasan and Chlorhexidine, were anchored to these surfaces. These antibacterial agents were selected for supposed effect on two most frequently occurring bacterial strains -Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Materials were further tested for the presence of antibacterial agent molecules, in our case by means of terahertz spectroscopy. Each material was tested on two spectroscopes - the SPECTRA and the OSCAT terahertz instruments.