Dogra, N., College of Science, Southern Illinois University, 1245 Lincoln Drive, Neckers 157A, Carbondale, IL, United States
Choudhary, R., College of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, United States
Kohli, P., College of Science, Southern Illinois University, 1245 Lincoln Drive, Neckers 157A, Carbondale, IL, United States
Haddock, J.D., College of Science, Southern Illinois University, 1245 Lincoln Drive, Neckers 157A, Carbondale, IL, United States
Makwana, S., College of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, United States
Horev, B., Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Vinokur, Y., Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Droby, S., Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Rodov, V., Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel

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. © 2015 American Chemical Society.