Hydrophobicity of abiotic surfaces governs droplets deposition and evaporation patterns.

Hydrophobicity of abiotic surfaces governs droplets deposition and evaporation patterns. Food Microbiol. 2020 Oct;91:103538 Authors: Richard E, Dubois T, Allion-Maurer A, Jha PK, Faille C Abstract Surface contamination with droplets containing bacteria is of concern in the food industry and other environments where hygiene control is essential. Deposition patterns after the drying of contaminated droplets is affected by numerous parameters. The present study evaluated the rate of evaporation and the shape of deposition patterns after the drying of water droplets on a panel of materials with different surface properties (topography, hydrophobicity). The influence of the particle properties (in this study 1 μm-microspheres and two bacterial spores) was also investigated. Polystyrene microspheres were hydrophobic, while Bacillus spores were hydrophilic or hydrophobic, and surrounded by different surface features. In contrast to material topography, hydrophobicity was shown to deeply affect droplet evaporation, with the formation of small, thick deposits with microspheres or hydrophilic spores. Among the particle properties, the spore morphology (size and round/ovoid shape) did not clearly affect the deposition pattern. Conversely, hydrophobic spores aggregated to form clusters, which quickly settled on the materials and either failed to migrate, or only migrated to a slight extent on the surface, resulting in a steady distribution of ...
Source: Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Food Microbiol Source Type: research