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Current Position:Home » News » Food Technology » Process & Production » Topic

MTU scientist develops antimicrobial compound to improve food safety

Zoom in font  Zoom out font Published: 2013-03-20  Views: 24
Core Tip: Michigan Technological University (MTU) researcher Jaroslaw Drelich has developed a new copper-based antimicrobial compound which can make the food supply safer.
Michigan Technological University (MTU) researcher Jaroslaw Drelich has developed a new copper-based antimicrobial compound which can make the food supply safer.

Drelich, a professor of materials science and engineering, has developed a new method to embed nanoparticles of copper into vermiculite, an inert compound which is sometimes used in potting soil.

Preliminary tests showed that the new antimicrobial compound eliminated about 100% of E. coli bacteria in local lake water . The compound was also effective in destroying Staphylococcus aureus, a common staph bacteria.

Results from other studies revealed that copper is toxic to Listeria, Salmonella and the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA.

Drelich stated that although copper is toxic to viruses and fungi, if it were incorporated into food packaging materials it could help prevent a variety of foodborne illnesses.

As copper-vermiculite material integrates well with other materials such as cardboard and plastic, it could be used in packing beads, boxes and cellulose-based egg cartons.

It could be used to treat drinking water, industrial effluent, sewage and can also be embedded in products used in public places where disease transmission is a concern.

Drelich is working with the MTU's SmartZone to commercialize the product through his business, Micro Techno Solutions.

 
 
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