Development of scanning-based detection of food contamination and mitigation for biofilm removal on equipment surfaces

Charles Eggleton, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMBC
Jitendra Patel, Beltsville Agriculture Research Center, USDA
Rohan Banton, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMBC
Grishma Prabhukhot, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMBC
Andrew Kowalewski, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMBC

The objectives of the research are (1) design and develop non-destructive scanning devices that
can scan large surface areas of foods for microbial, chemical, and biological contaminants with
high throughput, (2) identify novel antimicrobials for removal of multi-species biofilm from
foodborne surfaces associated with fluid dynamics and surface properties. We will design
experiments, select materials and vendors, and prepare samples for gradient temperature. Raman
spectroscopy (GTRS) system experiments. Participate in running experiments, data processing
and results interpretation with supervisory and nonsupervisory research scientists at the USDA.
Multi-species biofilms on different food contact surfaces will be grown and characterized using
biofilm reactors at the USDA. The biofilms will be exposed to 3-5 levels of shear stress to
determine the effect on biofilm growth and detachment. Novel sanitizers including eco-friendly
plant-derived antimicrobials will be employed to remove multi-species biofilms on equipment
surfaces as a function of fluid dynamic shear stress. A computational model based on the
immersed boundary method is being developed by the participants to simulate cell-substrate
interactions that accounts for both the molecular interactions and the response of the cell
membrane to the bulk flow. Model simulations will be used to gain insight from the observed
measurements.