Application of sonodynamic technology and sonosensitizers in food sterilization: a review of developments, trends and challenges

Abstract

Food safety and food waste have always been hot topics of discussion in recent years. However, the infection of human pathogenic bacteria and the waste of food resources caused by microbial-contaminated food remains common. Although traditional sterilization technology has been very mature, it causes changes in food flavor and excessive energy consumption to a certain extent. Moreover, the widespread bacterial resistance has also sounded a warning for researchers and finding a new alternative to antibiotics is urgently needed. The application of sonodynamic sterilization technology in medical treatment has aroused the interest of researchers. It provides ideas for new food sterilization technology. As a new non-thermal sterilization technology, sonodynamic sterilization technology has strong penetration, safety, less residue and by-products, and will less change the quality of the food itself. Therefore, sonodynamic sterilization technology has great potential applied in food sterilization technology. This review describes the concept of sonodynamic sterilization technology, the sterilization mechanism of sonodynamic sterilization and the inactivation mechanism of various pathogens, the classification and application of sonosensitizers, and the ultrasonic technology in sonodynamic sterilization in the application over the recent years. It provides a scientific reference for the application of sonodynamic sterilization technology in the field of food sterilization.

Keywords:

• Bacteria
• sonodynamic
• sonosensitizer
• sterilization
• ultrasound

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-47), Shanghai Municipal Science and technology project to enhance the capabilities of the platform (20DZ2292200, 19DZ2284000).

Author contributions

Qi Yan: investigation; methodology; writing original draft; writing review and editing. Jun Mei: writing review and editing. Dapeng Li: investigation; methodology; resources; supervision; writing review and editing. Jing Xie: investigation; methodology; resources; supervision; writing review and editing.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.