A Time-Course Study on a Food Contact Material (FCM)-Certified Coating Based on Titanium Oxide Deposited onto Aluminum.

Aluminum is the second most widely used metal worldwide. It is present as an additive in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and food contact materials (FCM). In this study, we confirm the bactericidal effect of a special anodizing method, based on TiO nanoparticles (DURALTI) deposited on aluminum disks with different roughness and subjected to two sanitizing treatments: UV and alcohol 70%. Consequently, we perform a time-course evaluation against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria to better frame the time required to achieve the best result. Approximately 10 CFU/mL of ATCC 25922; Typhimurium ATCC 1402; ATCC 9610; ATCC 27588; ATCC 6538; ATCC 29212; ATCC 14579 and NCTT 10888 were inoculated onto each aluminum surface and challenged with UV and alcohol 70% at 0, 15", 30", 1', 5', 15', 30', 1, 2, 4 and 6 h. DURALTI coating already confirmed its ability to induce a 4-logarithmic decrease (from 10 to 10 CFU/mL) after 6 h. Once each sanitizing treatment was applied, an overall bacterial inhibition occurred in a time ranging from 15'' to 1'. The results are innovative in terms of preventing microbial adhesion and growth in the food industry.