TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bertz, Morten
A1  - Schöning, Michael Josef
A1  - Molinnus, Denise
A1  - Homma, Takayuki
T1  - Influence of temperature, light, and H₂O₂ concentration on microbial spore inactivation: in-situ Raman spectroscopy combined with optical trapping
T2  - Physica status solidi (a) applications and materials science
N2  - To gain insight on chemical sterilization processes, the influence of temperature (up to 70 °C), intense green light, and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentration (up to 30% in aqueous solution) on microbial spore inactivation is evaluated by in-situ Raman spectroscopy with an optical trap. Bacillus atrophaeus is utilized as a model organism. Individual spores are isolated and their chemical makeup is monitored under dynamically changing conditions (temperature, light, and H₂O₂ concentration) to mimic industrially relevant process parameters for sterilization in the field of aseptic food processing. While isolated spores in water are highly stable, even at elevated temperatures of 70 °C, exposure to H₂O₂ leads to a loss of spore integrity characterized by the release of the key spore biomarker dipicolinic acid (DPA) in a concentration-dependent manner, which indicates damage to the inner membrane of the spore. Intensive light or heat, both of which accelerate the decomposition of H₂O₂ into reactive oxygen species (ROS), drastically shorten the spore lifetime, suggesting the formation of ROS as a rate-limiting step during sterilization. It is concluded that Raman spectroscopy can deliver mechanistic insight into the mode of action of H₂O₂-based sterilization and reveal the individual contributions of different sterilization methods acting in tandem.
KW  - hydrogen peroxide
KW  - optical spore trapping
KW  - Raman spectroscopy
KW  - sterilization conditions
KW  - temperature
Y1  - 2024
UR  - https://opus.bibliothek.fh-aachen.de/opus4/frontdoor/index/index/docId/11108
SN  - 1862-6319 (Online)
SN  - 1862-6300 (Print)
IS  - Early View
PB  - Wiley-VCH
CY  - Berlin
ER  -