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Review
. 2022 Mar 16;11(6):844.
doi: 10.3390/foods11060844.

Nature-Inspired Antimicrobial Surfaces and Their Potential Applications in Food Industries

Aswathi Soni  1 , Gale Brightwell  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Nature-Inspired Antimicrobial Surfaces and Their Potential Applications in Food Industries

Aswathi Soni et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global concern and has called for the integration of different areas of expertise for designing robust solutions. One such approach is the development of antimicrobial surfaces to combat the emerging resistance in microbes against drugs and disinfectants. This review is a compressive summary of the work done in the field of material science, chemistry, and microbiology in the development of antimicrobial materials and surfaces that are inspired by examples in nature. The focus includes examples of natural antimicrobial surfaces, such as cicada wings or nanopillars, dragonfly wings, shrimp shells, taro leaves, lotus leaves, sharkskin, gecko skin, and butterfly wings, along with their mechanism of action. Techniques, compositions, and combinations that have been developed to synthetically mimic these surfaces against bacterial/viral and fungal growth in food-processing areas have also been discussed. The applications of synthetic mimics of natural antimicrobial surfaces in food-processing environments is still a naïve area of research. However, this review highlights the potential applications of natural antimicrobial surfaces in the food-processing environment as well as outlines the challenges that need mitigations.

Keywords: AMR; antimicrobial; biofilms; food processing; natural surfaces.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A summary of the progress on antimicrobial surfaces.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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