Nanotechnology: A Valuable Strategy to Improve Bacteriocin Formulations

Abstract

Bacteriocins are proteinaceous antibacterial compounds, produced by diverse bacteria, which have been successfully used as: (i) food biopreservative; (ii) anti-biofilm agents; and (iii) additives or alternatives to the currently existing antibiotics, to minimize the risk of emergence of resistant strains. However, there are several limitations that challenge the use of bacteriocins as biopreservatives/antibacterial agents. One of the most promising avenues to overcome these limitations is the use of nanoformulations. This review highlights the practical difficulties with using bacteriocins to control pathogenic microorganisms, and provides an overview on the role of nanotechnology in improving the antimicrobial activity and the physicochemical properties of these peptides.

Listeria Occurrence and Potential Control Strategies in Alternative and Conventional Poultry Processing and Retail

“…bacteriocin (P34) at a concentration of 128 µg/g reduced L. monocytogenes in chicken sausages by 1 log CFU/g. The antimicrobial effect of bacteriocins may be valuable in a multiple hurdles approach but because they are relatively costly to purify, they may not be viable for small scale poultry processing (Davidson et al, 2005;Fahim et al, 2016). Furthermore, due to the presence of lipids, proteins, and proteolytic enzymes, constant application of bacteriocins may be necessary as these can interact with the molecule (Bradshaw, 2003;Mahapatra et al, 2005).…”

Source of Water and Potential Sanitizers and Biological Antimicrobials for Alternative Poultry Processing Food Safety Applications

“…Furthermore, there is a high cost associated with commercial production as these peptides must be acquired from cultured bacteria and purified without damaging the structure (Bradshaw, 2003). This is coupled with the low yield that traditional purification methods provide and loss of activity due to chemical and physical changes that can occur at various processing steps (Jung et al, 1992;Schillinger et al, 1996;Carolissen-Mackay et al, 1997;Davidson et al, 2005;Fahim et al, 2016). Currently the cost likely renders them unsuitable for cost-effective use within MPPUs.…”

“…One promising avenue is the use of Nano formulations to encapsulate the bacteriocins (Fahim et al, 2016). While Nano formulations are synthetic, their use in encapsulation of natural product may be approved for application in pasture flock production.…”

“…Nisin loaded onto chitosan-based nanoparticles also had four times lower the minimum inhibitory concentration than that of free nisin (Zohri et al, 2010). However, as Fahim et al (2016) documented, this technique needs to be optimized as several studies found that the non-encapsulated bacteriocin was comparable or even more effective than the encapsulated version.…”

Stability and Antimicrobial Activity of Nisin-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles: A Game-Changer in the War against Maleficent Microbes

“…Recently, the application of nanomaterials has received significant attention in the food industry due to their physicochemical characteristics as delivery systems of various compounds including food antimicrobial agents 13,14 . The results of recent studies have shown that the 4 loading of nisin onto nanoparticles makes its controlled release feasible and may increase its stability and bioactivity [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] .…”