Here, we report a novel, “dry”, nano-aerosol-based, antimicrobial technology using engineered water nanostructures (EWNSs) for leafy vegetable disinfection. These EWNS based nano-sanitizers are synthesized using a combined process of electrospray and ionization of aqueous solutions of generally recognized as safe active ingredients (AIs). A novel application of the EWNS to vegetable surfaces was carried out in this study. The EWNS-based nano-sanitizers were synthesized using an AI cocktail (10% hydrogen peroxide, 1% citric acid, 0.1% lysozyme and 0.0025% nisin), and their efficacy against foodborne pathogen surrogates and plant pathogens was assessed using a leafy vegetable model, namely spinach (Spinacia oleracea). The EWNSs were directed onto a coupon cut from spinach leaves, which were inoculated with microorganisms relevant to food safety, such as E. coli. It was shown that a 2 min exposure to EWNS-based nano-sanitizers significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the cell populations of Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, and Pseudomonas fluorescens on spinach by 3.5, 1.2 and 2.6 log, respectively. The EWNS also reduced Penicillium italicum spores by 1 log in 15 minutes and bacteriophage MS2 by 1.4 log in 5 minutes. More importantly, the estimated delivered dose of AIs using the EWNS approach was minuscule (258 pg cm⁻² for a 15-minute exposure). No significant difference (P > 0.05) in color or surface pH of spinach was found after 15 minutes of exposure. In summary, EWNS based nano-sanitizers are highly effective against foodborne pathogen surrogates and plant pathogens using only nanograms of nature-derived active ingredients and without an impact on produce quality.

中文翻译：

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使用工程水纳米结构提高食品安全性和带叶蔬菜质量的新型抗菌技术

在这里，我们报告了一种新颖的，“干燥的”，基于纳米气溶胶的抗菌技术，该技术使用工程水纳米结构（EWNSs）进行叶菜类蔬菜消毒。这些基于EWNS的纳米消毒剂是使用电喷雾和电离水溶液（通常被认为是安全活性成分（AIs））的组合工艺合成的。在这项研究中进行了EWNS在蔬菜表面的新应用。使用AI混合物（10％过氧化氢，1％柠檬酸，0.1％溶菌酶和0.0025％乳链菌肽）合成基于EWNS的纳米消毒剂，并使用多叶蔬菜模型评估其对食源性病原体替代物和植物病原体的功效。 ，即菠菜（菠菜）。将EWNS引导到从菠菜叶切下的优惠券上，菠菜叶上接种了与食品安全相关的微生物，例如大肠杆菌。结果表明，在2分钟暴露给基于EWNS纳米消毒剂显著（P <0.05）降低的细胞群体的大肠杆菌，无害利斯特氏菌，以及荧光假单胞菌3.5，分别为1.2和2.6的日志，对菠菜。EWNS还可以在15分钟内将Italicum青霉孢子减少1 log，在5分钟内将噬菌体MS2减少1.4 log。更重要的是，使用EWNS方法估计的AI传递剂量微不足道（在15分钟的暴露时间内为258 pg cm ^-2）。无明显差异（暴露15分钟后发现菠菜的颜色或表面pH值（P > 0.05）。总而言之，基于EWNS的纳米消毒剂仅使用纳克的自然来源活性成分，就可以有效抵抗食源性病原体替代物和植物病原体，并且对产品质量没有影响。