Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences were: Academic researchers, Food Industry specifically fresh produce processing industry; Food safety ingredient suppliers; undergraduate and high school students Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This grant supported the training of two graduate students (1 Ph.D. and 1 MS student) and 2 postdoctoral scholars. In addition, this grant supported the research training of five undergraduate students who contributed to various aspects of the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were disseminated through scientific peer- reviewed publications, conference presentations and papers and through circulation of our non-confidential disclosure of patented technologies to various food companies and their ingredient suppliers. In addition, the results of this research were also disseminated to several leading food companies through their visits to UC Davis Campus during the last four years. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impact and outcome: 1. Integration of phages with thin edible coatings for multifold improvement in stability of phages. This noveldiscovery resulted in a patent application. 2. Development of edible antimicrobial materials using a combination of phages and edible materialsand its translation for applications in improving safety of fresh cut produce includingtomatoes, cucumbers and apples. The results demonstrated multifold improvement in stability, loading efficiency and antimicrobial activityof phages using the novel coating composition on fresh produce. 3. Nanoscale antimicrobial materials based on a combination of nanocellulose and silver NPs. This study demonstrated unique aspects of this hybrid nanomaterial in not only achieving antimicrobial properties but also unique properties in clustering of bacteria by inducing production of bacterial extracellular polysaccharides. Tothe best of ourknowledge this was the first report in the literature. 4. Improved the yield of isolation of cellulose based nanofibers from rice straw and developed unique surface chemistries to induce self assembled structures of cellulose nanomaterials in aqueous medium.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Muniz, E.C., Antonio G. B. Pereira and Y.-L. Hsieh, Surface modification of electrospun nanofibers by electrostatic adsorption of chitosan nanowhiskers: antibacterial activity, Pacific Polymer Conference, Kaoshong, Taiwan, November 17-22, 2013
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Jiang, F. and Y.-L. Hsieh, Ag nanoprism synthesis using cellulose nanofibrils for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry?: Functional Nanoparticles for Environmental Application, 247th ACS National Meeting, Dallas, TX, March 16-20, 2014.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Hsieh, Y.-L., Biopolymer nanohybrids and nanocomposites, Invited, Electrospinning and Nanofibers Symposium in Honor of the 85th Birthday of Darrell Reneker, PMSE, 247th ACS National Meeting, Dallas, TX, March 16-20, 2014.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vonasek, E., Choi, A., Sanchez, J., Ping, L., Hsieh, Y.L., Nitin, N. (June 2015). Phage Functionalized Biomaterials for Applications in Fresh Produce. Gordon Research Conference on Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems. Waltham, Massachusetts.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vonasek, E., Choi, A., Sanchez, J., Nitin, N. (September 2015). Incorporating Bacteriophages into Edible Dip Coatings to Control Food Pathogens on Fresh Produce. ISHS International Conference on Fresh-cut Produce. Davis, California.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Min S. Wang, Feng Jiang, You-Lo Hsieh, and Nitin Nitin, Silver Laced
Cellulose Nanofibrils for Wound and Bacterial Biofilm Control , MRS Spring
Meeting, San Francisco, CA April 22-25, 2014.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Min Wang, Feng Jiang, You-Lo Hsieh, Nitin Nitin. Silver Laced Cellulose
Nanofibrils for Wound and Bacterial Biofilm Control, Gordon Research
Conference, Food Nanotechnology.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vonasek, E., Choi, A., Sanchez, J., Nitin, N. Thin edible coating improves loading, stability and activity of phages on fresh cut produce.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Gu, J., Y.-L. Hsieh, Surface and structure characteristics, self-assembling and solvent compatibility of holo-cellulose nanofibrils, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 7(7), 41924201 (2015).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Jiang, F., J.L. Dallas, B. K. Ahn, Y.-L. Hsieh, 1D and 2D NMR of nanocellulose in aqueous colloidal suspensions, Carbohydrate Polymers 110: 360-366 (2014).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Hu, S., J. Gu, F. Jiang, Y.-L Hsieh, Holistic rice straw hemicelluloses/lignin and nanocellulose composite films
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Hsieh, Y.-L., Nanostructures self-assembled from cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibrils, Advancements in Fiber-Polymer Composites: Wood Fiber, Natural Fibers, and Nanocellulose, Milwaukee, WI, May 6-7, 2013
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Hsieh, Y., Crystalline nanocellulose from non-fiber sources, ICNF2013, 1st International Conference on Natural Fibers: Sustainable Materials for Advanced Applications, Guimar�es-Portugal, June, 9-11, 2013.
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Progress 01/01/14 to 12/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: During this reporting period, the results of this research project were presented at the Annual Material Research Society Meeting at San Franscisco, 2014; Meeting with industry visitors to Food Science department at UC Davis. These visiting companies included Arla Foods; DuPont; Mars Inc; BASF. In addition to these visits, the technology developed in this research was also patented and based on this patent application, a CDA was signed with BASF for further evaluation and commercialization of the technology. Changes/Problems: During this period, I also request for a six month no-cost extension due to exceptional circumstances.Despite exceptional circumstances, our group has been highly productive. Based on support from this project, we have published four peer reviewed manuscripts ( and have submitted two patent applications. In addition, this research was also presented at multiple national and intl. research conferences (over 6 presentations). This request for a six months extension was approved. We plan to submit our final report in June, 2015. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The research funding supported the training of 2 postdoctoral fellows and one graduate student. One of the postdoctoral fellow has completed her training and have joined the industry, working in the area of biosensor devices for food and biomedical applications. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results were disseminated through confrence presentations, peer-review research articles, presentation to multiple companies, development of CDA with potential partners to discuss licensing of the technology. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Our goals for the next phase are: 1. Evaluate the genomic response of bacteria to nano and microscale cellulose fibers 2. Demostrate the experimental feasiblity of enhancing penetration of phages in biofilms with external forces. We have conducted numerical modeling to demonstrate the feasiblity of this appraoch.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In this period, the resutls of our research demonstrated that: 1. Food grade cellulose based nanofibers can induce unique clustering of bacterial cells in suspension 2. Clustering effect of bacterial cells can be enhanced by combining cellulose nanofibers with Ag nanoparticles. These novel discoveries may support further development of nanoscale approaches for separation of bacteria from complex matrices 3. Role of edible coatings in improving stability (over 2 weeks) and loading efficiency of phages (by 3-4 fold) on cut fruits and vegetable surfaces. This is highly significant as phages are highly unstable on acidic fruits such as cut apples.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cellulose nanofibrils improve dispersibility and stability of silver nanoparticles and induce production of bacterial extracellular polysaccharides. Journal of Materials Chemistry B.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Rapid detection of bacteriophages in starter culture using water-in-oil-in-water emulsion microdroplets
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Progress 01/01/13 to 12/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The research project was presented at thw IFT-Annual meeting 2013 both in form on oral presentation and a technical poster. The research results of this project were also presented to food companies through the Robert Mandavi Institite-Industry Partnership Program (RMI-IIP)and the NSF- Center of Advanced Processing and Packaging (NSF-CAPPS). The RMI-IIP meeting was held at the research and development units for the Del Monte Foods. The NSF-CAAPS meetings were held at UC-Davis and Ohio state university. The research were also presented to abroader biotechnology communitysupported by the NSF-CREATE IGERT project. The members of this community include biotechnology scientists from industry and academia and public policy. The research were presented both in a technical poster format and an oral presentation. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This research supported the training and professional development of a PhD candidate in biological and agricultural engineering program and two postdoctoral scholars (Dr. Min Wang and Dr. Feng Jiang). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The research results were disseminated in the form of oral and poster presentations, scientific peer reviewed manuscripts and patent application. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In the next reporting period, the focus will on biofilm treatment using nanoscale antimicrobial materials. These studies will focus on characterizing interactions of nanoscale materials with biofilm and inhibitory activity of the nanoscale antimicrobial formulations.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplished significant enhancement (5-7 orders of magnitude) in stability of bacteriophages on cut fruit surfaces including cut apple and cucumber samples for an extended period (~2-3 weeks) using novel edible coating formulations. Prior research have identified that acidic molecules on cut fruit surface can inactive phages upon contact, thus limiting their application in cur fruits. Demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity of phages encapsulated in edible films. The results that phages encapsulated in edible films can effectively reduce microbial load (3 log reduction) as compared to the control samples Developed a high throughput approach to measure interactions of biofilm-antimicrobial material using a microwell array platform. Demonstrated unique interactions of nanofiber and microbes resulting in aggregation of microbes, thus separation from aqueous suspensions for easy removal. Synthesized silver nanoparticles in-situ to nanofibers to demonstrate enhanced dispersion, binding and antimicrobial properties of these nano-fiber-antimicrobial material complexes.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Erica Vonasek, Phuong Le, Nitin Nitin, Encapsulation of bacteriophages in whey protein film for extended storage and release, Food Hydrocolloids
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Nitin Nitin, Erica Vonasek, Viral Biocontrol Formulations, Patent Application, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Vonasek, E., Sanchez, J., and Nitin, N. Integrating Bacteriophages and Edible Packaging for Antimicrobial Food Coatings. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago, Illinois. July 2013
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Vonasek, E. and Nitin, N. Improving Optical Imaging Methods for Use in Plant Systems. Symposium conducted at CREATE-IGERT, Davis, California. February 2013
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In this project our goal is to develop multifunctional antimicrobial materials that have high specificity of targeting pathogens in fresh and cut fruits and vegetables. To achieve specificity of targeting specific microbes in diverse environments including biofilms, the research plan integrates bacteriophages and enzymes with biomaterials derived for agricultural by-products. The key results till date are- Development of a facile approach to functionalize cellulose based fibers with bacteriophages based on electrostatic interactions between the head proteins of the phages and the positively charged cellulose nanofibers. Characterization of loading efficiency and uniformity of phage coating on cellulose nanofibers. Determination of the rate of dispersal of bacteriophages from phage coated cellulose nanofibers in aqueous environment. In addition, to development and characterization of novel antimicrobial material, the research project also evaluated transport of bacteriophages into biofilms and specifically simulated the influence of electro-thermal induced enhanced transport of bacteriophages into biofilms. The results were presented at the nanotechnology symposium at Jiangnang University in China and the annual meeting of International Association of Food Protection. The results were also published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. PARTICIPANTS: The project provided training for two graduate students -Erica Vonasek and Ping Lu and a postdoctoral fellow -Byun-Jun Kollbe Ahn TARGET AUDIENCES: The results of this research were presented at international meetings that are widely attended by scientists working in the area of food safety. In addition, the results were published in a peer reviewed scientific journal with broad audience including material and biomaterial scientists PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Novel approaches to functionalize cellulose nanofibers with phages were evaluated. Specifically, three immobilization mechanism: physical adsorption, electrostatic interaction and chemical conjugation were studied using T7 bacteriophage as a model phage (an E. coli targeting bacteriophage). For chemical conjugation, cellulose fibers were covalently bonded with a reactive dye ligand that has exhibited conjugation of enzymes on cellulose fibers. For electrostatic interactions, positively charged surfaces were created by coating cellulose fibers with cationic biopolymers. Physical adsorption was studied on unmodified cellulose fibers. These phage bound nanofibers were characterized using phage loading efficiency on fiber substrates, phage release from the cellulose fibers in aqueous environment, uniformity of phage coating on fibers and antimicrobial activity of phage bound fibers. Electrostatic mediated binding of phages to cellulose nanofiber was most efficient among the three approaches. The antimicrobial activity results show that the phages electrostatically bound to cellulose nanofibers exhibited 1.5 log reduction of microbial growth in 24 hours, highest among the three mechanisms evaluated. Results of imaging measurements demonstrate that the phages were uniformly coated on the positively charged cellulose fibers based on electrostatic interaction between the phages and the fibers. Between the positively charged cellulose fibers, the release of phages in aqueous solution from the chitosan -cellulose nanofibers was slower than the release from polylysine- cellulose nanofibers. In addition to developing novel antimicrobial materials, we also evaluated transport of phages into biofilm using numerical simulation approaches and investigated the potential of electrothermal induced flow effects to improve the rate of transport of phages in simulated biofilm environment. The numerical simulation results indicate significant improvement in the rate of transport of phages in biofilm using electro-thermal induced motion with a biofilm.
Publications
- Nitin, N., Nanoscale science in food and biological systems, Invited talk at the Nanoscale Technologies in Food Science at Jiangnang University, China, 2011
- Nitin, N., Nanoscale Material Design for Applications in Biosensing and Food Safety, Annual Meeting of Food Protection, 2012
- Lu, P. and Y.-L. Hsieh, Preparation and characterization of cellulose nanocrystals from rice straw, Carbohydrate Polymers, 87:564-573 (2012).
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In this project, our goal is to develop multifunctional antimicrobial materials that have significant impact on safety of fresh produce and cut fruits. To maintain specificity of targeting pathogens in presence of commensal microbes, the research project is focused on integration of phages and biofilm degrading enzymes on sustainable agricultural derived biomaterials. The materials used in this research are derived for agricultural by products such as cellulose from rice husk and whey protein from by product of cheese and milk processing operations. Key results till date- Developed approaches to bind bacteriophages to cellulose nanofibers. Developed encapsulation methods to form phage encapsulating edible coatings. Characterized antimicrobial activity and stability of bound phages on fibers and coatings. Characterize phage- microbe interaction of fresh lettuce leaves using real time non-invasive imaging. The results were presented at the USDA Grantees meeting for the nanotechnology program, NSF-IGERT symposium with a focus on sustainable materials for food and agriculture and IFT Annual Meeting for 2011. Results were also published in a peer reviewed scientific journal. PARTICIPANTS: The project provided training for a graduate students: Zhen Luo (PhD candidate) and Erica Vonasek (PhD student). TARGET AUDIENCES: The results of this research were presented at the national level IFT scientific research meeting in 2011 in form of research posters and NSF-IGERT symposium at UC-Davis. This IFT meeting is attended by audience from both food industry and academia. Research results were also published in peer reviewed scientific journal in food science with broad readership including academia, industry and government research agencies. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Key results till date- Developed and characterize antimicrobial materials based on binding of phage to cellulose fibers. In this research, we evaluated the role of different surface chemistries on efficacy of binding phages to cellulose fibers and release of phages from these cellulose fibers in aqueous environment. The key outcome of this study was that electrostatic mediated assembly of phages on cellulose surface was most efficient as compared to simple adsorption or chemical conjugation of phages with cellulose fibers. The key advantage of electrostatic mediated binding of phages is that the phages can be easily bound to existing cellulosic materials with a simple surface modification. This can lead to development of phage modified cellulose fibers for antimicrobial food packaging applications. Developed encapsulation methods to form phage encapsulating thin edible coatings. This approach is complementary to assembly of phages on cellulose nanofibers. In this research we evaluated stability and release of phages encapsulated in thin edible coatings. The results demonstrated that edible coatings can provide extended storage stability for bacteriophage under ambient conditions. These results were in contrast to rapid loss of phage activity on a plastic surface. In addition, we also developed a rapid assay for real time quantification of phage- bacterial interaction in fresh leafy greens. Development of this assay provides a rapid and a quantitative approach to screen various antimicrobial materials and their efficacy in treatment of microbes in fresh produce.
Publications
- Zhen Luo, C. Simmons, J. Vanderghenyst, N. Nitin. 2012. Quantitative Real Time Measurements of Bacteria-Bacteriophages Interactions in Fresh Lettuce Leaves, Journal of Food Engineering, 2012 In press.
- Zhen Luo, C. Simmons, J. Vanderghenyst, N. Nitin. 2011. Quantitative Real Time Measurements of Bacteria-Bacteriophages Interactions in Fresh Lettuce Leaves, IFT.
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