Nanotechnology has provided novel approaches against food born and pathogenic bacteria. Within the present study, the effects of pure and nanoemulsified essential oil derived from Satureja Khuzistanica essential oil (SKEO) on Escherichia coli (E. coli ATCC 25922) as a human pathogen has been studied using a microfluidic chip. The morphology and antibacterial activity of E. coli at disparate residence durations (from 2 to 30 min) and various nanoemulsified or pure essential oil concentrations (8.0–62.5 μg mL⁻¹) and numerous nanoemulsion's droplet sizes from 32 to 124 nm, have been investigated in the microfluidic system. Also, the quantitative analysis including optical density, time killing assay, protein, nucleic acid and potassium release were employed to confirm the effects of bacterial inhibition taking advantage of the chip apparatus. It was revealed that the prepared nanoemulsion left a considerable destructive effect on E. coli bacterial membrane, confirmed by fast release of cytoplasmic elements including protein, nucleic acid and potassium. However, this process was remarkably intensified for both nanoemulsion and pure essential oil using the microfluidic chip versus the conventional methods. The results also revealed that after 4 min of bacterium treatment by 12.5 μg mL⁻¹ nanoemulsion with 32 nm mean particle size, the bacterial membrane wall began to degrade rapidly, and bacterial activity was almost completely inhibited in a 20-min period. These findings may have implications in the similarly structured and phospholipid-encapsulated bacteria and viruses, like COVID-19.

纳米技术提供了对抗食源性细菌和致病细菌的新方法。在本研究中，纯和纳米乳化的精油的效果衍生自香薄荷属Khuzistanica精油（SKEO）上的大肠杆菌（大肠杆菌ATCC 25922），其为人类病原体使用微流体芯片进行了研究。大肠杆菌在不同停留时间（从 2 到 30 分钟）和各种纳米乳化或纯精油浓度（8.0–62.5 μg mL ^-1）下的形态和抗菌活性) 和许多纳米乳液的液滴尺寸从 32 到 124 nm，已经在微流体系统中进行了研究。此外，还采用定量分析，包括光密度、时间杀伤测定、蛋白质、核酸和钾释放来确认利用芯片装置的细菌抑制效果。结果表明，制备的纳米乳液对大肠杆菌细菌膜留下了相当大的破坏作用，这通过包括蛋白质、核酸和钾在内的细胞质元素的快速释放得到证实。然而，与传统方法相比，使用微流控芯片的纳米乳液和纯精油的这一过程都得到了显着强化。结果还表明，细菌处理 4 分钟后，用 12.5 μg mL ^-1平均粒径为 32 nm 的纳米乳剂，细菌膜壁开始迅速降解，细菌活性在 20 分钟内几乎完全被抑制。这些发现可能对类似结构和磷脂包裹的细菌和病毒（如 COVID-19）产生影响。