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The ultimate goal of this study was developing antimicrobial food-contact materials based on natural phenolic compounds using nanotechnological approaches. Among the methyl-β-cyclodextrin-encapsulated phenolics tested, curcumin showed by far the highest activity toward Escherichia coli with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.4 mM. Curcumin was enclosed in liposome-type polydiacetylene/phosholipid nanovesicles supplemented with N-hydroxysuccinimide and glucose. The fluorescence spectrum of the nanovesicles suggested that curcumin was located in their bilayer region. Free-suspended nanovesicles tended to bind to the bacterial surface and demonstrated bactericidal activity toward Gram-negative (E. coli) and vegetative cells of Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus) bacteria reducing their counts from 5 log CFU mL(-1) to an undetectable level within 8 h. The nanovesicles were covalently bound to silanized glass. Incubation of E. coli and B. cereus with nanovesicle-coated glass resulted in a 2.5 log reduction in their counts. After optimization this approach can be used for controlling microbial growth, cross-contamination, and biofilm formation on food-contacting surfaces.

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