An official website of the United States government.
<ol> <LI>To determine the ability of silanols to inactivate microorganisms on food.<LI>To test the ability of solids that release hydrogen peroxide to control bacterial growth in water, milk, and fruit juices.
Non-Technical Summary: This project addresses the problem of microbial contamination of food and water. This project examines the effectivenes of silanols and slowly released hydrogen peroxide to inactivate microorganisms associated with food and water. <P> Approach: Bacterial and viral pathogens and models for these pathogens will be adsorbed on foods. A portion of the samples will be treated with silanols. After different time periods, the adsorbed microorganisms will be recovered. The difference between the number of microorganisms recovered from untreated foods and foods treated with silanols will be used to determine the amount of inactivation caused by the silanols. Water samples will have microorganisms added, along with solids, such as sand, that are coated with magnesium peroxide. The release of hydrogen peroxide and the inactivation of the microorganisms will be measured.