CONTROL OF

MICROORGANISMS -
RADIATIONS
MARIYA A JAISON
OST-2021-24-15
1ST YEAR M.sc FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 RADIATIONS IN CONTROL OF
MICROORGANISMS

Control of microorganisms by radiation is

mainly by,

● Non ionizing radiation - UV

Radiations, Microwaves

● Ionizing radiations - Gamma rays,

Electron beams, X rays
 NON IONIZING RADIATIONS
1. UV RADIATIONS

● UV portion of light spectrum includes all radiations with wavelength from

100 nm to 400 nm and have low wavelength and low energy
● Microbial activity of UV rays depend on the length of exposure: the the
exposure the greater the cidal activity
● The most cidal wavelength of UV light lie in the 260 to 270 nm range
● Destroys fungal cells and spores, bacterial vegetative cells, protozoa, and
viruses.
● Vegetative spores are 10Xs more resistant to radiation, but longer exposure
time can kill spores
 MODE OF ACTION OF UV RADIATIONS

● UV light is absorbed by microbial DNA and causes adjacent thymine bases on the same DNA
strand to covalently bond together, forming what are called thymine-thymine dimers
● As the DNA replicates, nucleotides do not complementary base pair with the thymine dimers
and this terminates the replication of DNA strand
● Most of the damage from UV radiation actually comes from the cell trying to repair the
damage to the DNA by a process called SOS repair
● Altered DNA polymerase loses its proofreading ability resulting in the synthesis of DNA that
itself now contains many misincorporated bases and thus causing mutations and can lead to
faulty protein synthesis
 APPLICATIONS
● A low-pressure mercury-vapor discharge tube floods the inside
of a biosafety cabinet with shortwave UV light when not in use,
sterilizing microbiological contaminants from irradiated
surfaces

● UVGI is often used to disinfect equipment such as safety

goggles, instruments,glasswares, pipettors, and other devices.

● Disinfect glassware and plasticware this way. Microbiology

laboratories use UVGI to disinfect surfaces inside biological
safety cabinets and laminar air flow chambers
● Air disinfection
● Water disinfection
● Waste water treatment
● Laboratory hygiene
● Food and beverage production for sterilization of fruit
juices
LIMITATIONS
● UV light is that it has very poor penetrating power
● Only microorganisms on the surface of a material that are exposed directly to the
radiation are susceptible to destruction- surface sterilization
● UV light can also damage the eyes, cause burns, and cause mutation in cells of the skin
 IONIZING RADIATIONS
● Ionizing radiation is high energy irradiation and have shorter wavelength which
has the ability to break chemical bonds in a molecule.
● The energy of these ionizing radiations can be transferred to other atomic particle
thus they knock an electron from an atom creating ions or free radicals.
● Ions disrupts hydrogen bonding, oxidise double covalent bonds and create hydroxyl
radicals
● These high energy ionizing radiations can be used to kill microorganisms in food to
prevent their spoilage and make them safer which is the basic concept behind food
irradiation.
● High energy (low wave length) radiations such as X-rays, -rays and accelerated
electrons and Gamma rays are the examples ionizing radiations used for control of
microorganisms
● Penetrates liquids and solids effectively
● Ionizing radiation is an effective sterilizer.
● It damages DNA and generates peroxides in the cells.
● Gamma rays and x-rays pass through the material without causing
the material to become radioactive.
SOURCES OF RADIATIONS
 MODE OF ACTION

● Ionizing radiation is strong enough to pass into the cell, where it alters
molecular structures and damages cell components.
● Ionizing radiation introduces double-strand breaks in DNA molecules
● This may directly cause DNA mutations to occur, or mutations may be
introduced when the cell attempts to repair the DNA damage
● As these mutations accumulate, they eventually lead to cell death.
MODE OF ACTION
RADIATION STERILIZATION
● Radiation sterilization relies on ionizing radiation, primarily gamma, X-ray or
electron radiation, to deactivate microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses and
spores
● Due to numerous advantages over heat or chemical based sterilization techniques,
this method is particularly attractive in medicine and healthcare-related fields.
● Radiation sterilization is readily applied during tissue allograft preparation,
pharmaceutical packaging and medical device manufacturing
MODE OF ACTION
● Radiation can be lethal to biological organisms by inducing genetic damage and chemical
changes in key biological macromolecules
● During sterilization treatment, the sample of interest is bombarded with high energy electrons or
high energy electromagnetic radiation, which leads to the formation of extremely unstable free
radicals, molecular ions and secondary electrons.
● These radiation products then react with nearby molecules to fracture and alter chemical bonds.
● DNA in particular is highly sensitive to the damaging effects of radiation and will break,
depolymerize, mutate and alter structure upon exposure to ionizing radiation.
● Incomplete repair of DNA damage ultimately leads to loss of genetic information and cell death.
Thus, radiation can kill harmful microorganisms and be used as a sterilization technique.
GAMMA IRRADIATION
● Gamma radiation sterilization is the most popular form of radiation sterilization.
● Co-60 and, to a lesser extent, Cs-137 serve as radiation sources and undergo
decomposition to release high energy gamma rays.
● The produced electromagnetic radiation is highly penetrating and can kill
contaminating microorganisms.
● Both radioisotopes are viable sources of radiation due to their highly stability (with
half-lives >5 years) and gamma emission properties.
● Co-60 tends to be favored because it can be easily manufactured from natural metal,
is not fissile or flammable and is less soluble in water.
● Gamma irradiation is a physical/chemical means of sterilization, because it kills bacteria by breaking down
bacterial DNA, inhibiting bacterial division.

● Energy of gamma rays passes through the equipment, disrupting the pathogens that cause contamination.

● These changes at the molecular level cause the death of contaminating organisms or render such organisms
incapable of reproduction.

● The gamma irradiation process does not create residuals or impart radioactivity in the processed items.

● Complete penetration can be achieved depending on the thickness of the material.

ELECTRONIC BEAMS
● Electron beam (e-beam) radiation, a form of ionizing energy, is generally characterized
by low penetration and high-dose rates.
● E-beam irradiation is similar to gamma radiation in that it alters various chemical and
molecular bonds on contact
● Beams produced for e-beam sterilization are concentrated, highly-charged streams of
electrons generated by the acceleration and conversion of electricity.
● e-beam and gamma radiation are for sterilization of items ranging from syringes to
cardiothoracic devices.
● Sterilization can alternatively be accomplished using electron beam irradiation.
● High energy electrons capable of inducing biological damage are generated by
electron beam accelerators.
● Electron energies of ~10 MeV are used, but the exact energies can be tuned to
optimize penetration depth and limit breakdown of the irradiated material.
● Gamma irradiation and e-beam irradiation differ in sample penetration depth,
exposure time required for effective sterilization and product compatibility.
● Because the penetration ability of electrons is lower than that of gamma rays, e-
beam sterilization is limited in application to lower density or smaller products.
● e-beam sterilization can use higher dosages and shorter treatment times
X RAY RADIATION
● Electron beam accelerators will also generate X-rays for sterilization
● X-rays are produced when high energy electrons from the accelerator interact with high atomic number
nuclei, such as atoms of tungsten or tantalum.
● In a process known as Bremsstrahlung, the deceleration of the electron when passing the nucleus results
in the release of X-rays
● Electron energies of 5-7 MeV are commercially used; the energies of the resultant X-rays lie along a
spectrum ranging from zero to the energy of the electron beam
● X-rays used for sterilization can be more penetrating than either gamma-rays or electron beams
● They are largely directional since generated X-rays propagate in the same direction as the incident
electron.
● A concerted stream of X-rays is sent towards the product of interest and multiple rows of products can be
sterilized simultaneously.
● Of radiation sterilization techniques, X-ray sterilization can achieve the highest dose uniformity ratio
(DUR), the ratio between maximum and minimum dose required for sterilization
● DUR measures the range of doses delivered to the product and is important to optimize for irradiation
sensitive materials in order to minimize degradation.
APPLICATIONS
● Gamma sterilization is used to sterilize human tissue grafts
● Sterilization by radiation is also used for sterilization of plastic syringes, hypodermic
needles, scalpels, surgical blades, adhesive dressings and thermolabile medicaments.
● Food packaging, raw materials for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and even wine
corks.
● Food sterilization by gamma irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing
radiation to destroy microorganisms, namely bacteria, or insects that might be present
in the food.
ADVANTAGES
● Terminal Processing: Due to the penetration depth of ionizing radiation, products can
be processed in their fully sealed, final packaging. This limits risk of contamination
following sterilization.
● Cold Method/Temperature Independence: Temperature increases during treatment are
minimal.
● Chemical Independence: No volatile or toxic chemicals are needed. In the case of X-
ray or e-beam irradiation, no end products requiring disposal are generated during the
procedure.
● No residue: Radiation leaves no residue on the sterilized product.

● Flexibility: Radiation can sterilize products of any phase (gaseous, liquid or solid
materials), products with variable density, size or thickness, and homogeneous or
heterogeneous systems. Furthermore, sterilization can be conducted at any temperature
and any pressure.

● Time efficiency: E-beam sterilization can be completed within seconds to minutes

● Sterility assurance level (SAL): Radiation treatment can yield a high SAL of 10-6 or
better, ensuring that less than one out of a million microorganisms survive the
sterilization procedure.

● Ease: Only a single variable, the exposure dose/time, must be monitored, making
radiation sterilization simple and easy to control.
DISADVANTAGES
● Instrumentation: Capital costs are high and specialized facilities are often needed. Gamma radiation
requires a nuclear reactor; E-beam/X-ray radiation are generated using electron beam accelerators.

● Product Degradation: Radiation based methods are not compatible with all materials and can cause
breakdown of the packaging material and/or product. Common plastics such as polyvinyl chloride
(PVC), acetal and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are sensitive to gamma radiation. The high
energies involved in e-beam radiation can also lead to main chain scission (breaking of the long
chain backbone) and chemical crosslinking of packaging polymers.

● Radioactive material: When gamma radiation is used as an ionization source, radiation sterilization
requires handling and disposal of radioactive material. Note that, at commonly used radiation
levels, irradiation with gamma rays does not induce radioactivity in the treated sample itself.
RADICIDATION
● Radicidation is a specific case of food irradiation where the dose of ionizing radiation
applied to the food is sufficient to reduce the number of viable specific non-spore-forming
pathogenic bacteria to such a level that none are detectable when the treated food is
examined by any recognized method.
● The required dose is in the range of 2 – 8 kGy.
● The term may also be applied to the destruction of parasites such as tapeworm and
trichina in meat, in which case the required dose is in the range of 0.1 – 1 kGy.
● When the process is used specifically for destroying enteropathogenic and
enterotoxinogenic organisms belonging to the genus Salmonella, it is referred to as
Salmonella radicidation.
RADURIZATION (PASTEURIZATION )
● Irradiation in which certain packaged and non-packaged foods (such as potatoes and
spices) are treated with mild ionizing radiation dose, usually less than 10 kGray, but
sufficient to eliminate or to significantly reduce the number of pathogens and to extend
the shelf life.
● The process is intended to sterilize foods by destroying or inactivating microorganisms
that contribute to spoilage, including vegetative bacteria.
● The required dose is in the range of 0.4 – 10 kGy.[1]
IRRADIATION LOGO- RADURA