Antimicrobial and antifouling polymeric coating mitigates persistence of biofilm.

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 biofilm establishment and facilitating its removal. Viable cell density of a 48 h biofilm was reduced by 2.10 log cfu cm 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 of viable cells remaining after 105 min cleaning by water at 65 °C, compared to 4.5 log cfu cm remaining on native polypropylene. Such coatings may reduce the persistence of biofilms in food processing environments, in support of reducing food spoilage and waste.