High-frequency (850 kHz) ultrasound was used to inactivate bacteria and yeast at different growth phases under controlled temperature conditions. Three species of bacteria, Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis as well as a yeast, Aureobasidium pullulans were considered. The study shows that high-frequency ultrasound is highly efficient in inactivating the bacteria in both their exponential and stationary growth phases, and inactivation rates of more than 99% were achieved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe inactivation of Enterobacter aerogenes in skim milk using low-frequency (20kHz) and high-frequency (850kHz) ultrasonication was investigated. It was found that low-frequency acoustic cavitation resulted in lethal damage to E. aerogenes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA simple theoretical model based on shear forces generated by the collapse of the ultrasound cavities near the surface of a microorganism is proposed. This model requires two parameters which take into account the number of acoustic cavitation bubbles, and the resistance of the cell wall of the microorganism to the shear forces generated by bubble collapse. To validate the model, high-power low frequency (20 kHz) ultrasound was used to inactivate two microorganisms with very different sizes, viz.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to determine the effects of high-intensity low-frequency (20 kHz) ultrasound treatment on the viability of bacteria suspension. More specifically, we have investigated the relationship between the deactivation efficiency and the physical (size, hydrophobicity) and biological (gram-status, growth phase) properties of the microbes. Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent baby formula milk powder contamination incidents have shown that the classic markers or standards in milk quality control are insufficient in identifying "manipulated" poor-quality milk. In the present study, we demonstrated for the first time that cow milk contains large amounts of microRNAs (miRNAs) and that the unique expression profile of milk-specific miRNAs can serve as a novel indicator and possible new standard for the quality control of raw milk and milk-related commercial products, such as fluid milk and powdered formula milk. First, using Solexa sequencing, we systematically screened miRNA expression in raw milk and identified a total of 245 miRNAs in raw milk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF