Reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on beef surfaces using low-voltage direct electric current and the impact on sensory properties

Low-voltage direct current was applied to beef, inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 on the surface covered with a thin film of 0.15 M NaCl solution. Experiments were conducted with 15, 30, and 45 mA/cm² currents; 1, 10 and 100 kHz frequencies; 30, 50 and 70% duty cycles, and 2, 8 and 16 min treatment durations. Increase in current intensity, frequency, duty cycle, and treatment duration increased the % reduction of E. coli. A maximum reduction of 98.9% was achieved. Sensory color analysis showed significant differences between treated and untreated beef. The maximum temperature rise of NaCl solution was 31.9 °C.     

Combined effect of ultrasound,heat, and pressure on Escherichia coli O157:H7, polyphenol oxidase activity,and anthocyanins in blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) juice

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different treatments—heat treatment (HT), sonication (SC), thermosonication (TS), manosonication (MS), manothermal (MT), and manothermosonication (MTS) on Escherichia coli O157:H7, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and anthocyanin content in blueberry juice. First, samples were treated at different temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C) and power intensities (280, 420, 560, and 700 W) for 10 min. Subsequently, samples were treated using combinations of power intensity and mild temperature for 10 min. For further study, samples were treated using HT (80 °C), TS (40 °C, 560 W), MT (350 MPa, 40 °C), MS (560 W, 5 min/350 MPa), or MTS (560 W, 5 min, 40 °C/350 MPa, 40 °C) for 5, 10, 15, 20 min for each treatment, and the results compared between treatments. HT significantly reduced PPO activation (2.05% residual activity after only 5 min), and resulted in a 2.00-log reduction in E. coli O157:H7 and an 85.25% retention of anthocyanin. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was slightly inactivated by TS after 5 min (0.17-log reduction), while residual PPO activity was 23.36% and anthocyanin retention was 98.48%. However, Escherichia coli O157:H7 was rapidly inactivated by MTS (5.85-log reduction) after 5 min, while anthocyanin retention was 97.49% and residual PPO activity dropped to 10.91%. The destruction of E. coli cells as a result of these treatments were confirmed using SEM and TEM. Therefore, a combination of sonication, high pressure, and mild heat allows the safety of blueberry juice to be maintained without compromising the retention of desirable antioxidant compounds.     

Combination of therapeutic ultrasound with antibiotics interfere with the growth of bacterial culture that colonizes skin ulcers: An in-vitro study

Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli are among the major bacterial species that colonize skin ulcers. Therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) produces biophysical effects that are relevant to wound healing; however, its application over a contaminated injury is not evidence-based. The objective of this research was to analyze the effect of TUS on in vitro-isolated S. aureus and E. coli, including the combination of ultrasound and antibiotics, in order to assess their antibiotic action on bacterial susceptibility. For the experiments, the bacterial strains were suspended in saline, then diluted (10⁴ CFU/mL) for irradiation (at 1 and 3 MHz, 0.5 and 0.8 W/cm² for 0 and 15 min) and the combination treatment of ultrasonication and antibiotics was administered by adding nalidixic acid (S. aureus) and tetracycline (E. coli) at concentrations equivalent to 50% of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The experiments were carried out in duplicate with six repetitions. The suspensions were inoculated on to Petri plates and incubated at 37 °C and the colony forming units (CFUs) were counted after 24 h. The results were subjected to the Shapiro–Wilk normality test, followed by parametric ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test at a significance level of 1%. The results demonstrated that the action of TUS at 1 MHz inhibited bacterial growth while at 3 MHz, bacterial growth was observed in both species. However, the synergistic combination of ultrasound and antibiotics was able to inhibit the growth of both bacteria completely after 15 min of ultrasonication. The results suggest that the action of ultrasound on S. aureus and E. coli are dependent on the oscillation frequency as well as the intensity and time of application. The combination of ultrasound with antibiotics was able to inhibit bacterial growth fully at all frequencies and doses in both species.     

EHD atomization characteristics of a point-plate system with a porous point electrode

An electrohydrodynamic (EHD) atomization from a point-to-plate system, with a wet porous point as a corona electrode, has been studied. And the atomized water droplets from the wet porous point, as well as the water droplet traces, the water droplet charge-to-mass ratios, and the water droplet number concentrations, were investigated. It was observed that the wet porous point can atomize abundant amounts of water droplet, 2.8, 2.6 and 2.2 mg/min for negative, AC and positive corona, respectively. The migrated water droplet traces were observed. The positive wet porous point atomized very fine water droplets than those obtained with the negative wet porous point. Moreover, the water droplets atomized from the AC corona showed granular-like larger traces. A weak corona discharge can atomize water droplets very effectively. On the other hand, an intensive corona discharge can eject more water droplets. As a result with the wet porous point, the maximum corona-current-based and corona-power-based water droplet atomization yields of Y_C = 3.34, 3.32 and 3.25 μg/μAs and Y_P = 0.35, 0.40 and 0.27 mg/Ws have been obtained for the negative, AC and positive corona discharges.     

Manothermosonication (MTS) treatment of apple-carrot juice blend for inactivation of Escherichia coli 0157:H7

This study was performed to evaluate the responses of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 inoculated in an apple-carrot blended juice to manothermosonication (MTS) treatments. The MTS treatments were conducted in a continuous-flow MTS system. The juice samples were exposed to ultrasound treatment at combinations of three temperatures (60, 50 and 40 °C) and three pressure levels (100, 200, and 300 kPa) for five residence times (15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 s). The results showed that higher treatment temperature (i.e. 60 °C) and hydrostatic pressure in the MTS system significantly enhanced the microbial reduction. A FDA mandated 5-log CFU/ml reduction of E. coli 0157:H7 for juice processing was achieved in 30 s for MTS treatment at 60 °C, in comparison to 60 s at 50 °C. The Weilbull and Log-logistic models provided the best fitting of the inactivation data for the MTS treatments. Extensive damage of E. coli 0157:H7 cells treated with MTS was observed on micro-images of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.     

Extracellular production of α-amylase during fed-batch cultivation of recombinant Escherichia coli using pulsed electric field

In this study, extracellular release of recombinant α-amylase from Escherichia coli HB101/pHI301A by high-voltage pulsed electric field (PEF) was demonstrated during fed-batch cultivation. A continuous PEF treatment from the beginning of cultivation caused a decrease in cell growth rate and productivity of α-amylase, although a small quantity of extracellular α-amylase was detected in the culture supernatant. On the other hand, when PEF (12 kV, 3 Hz) was applied intermittently (each for 30 min with an interval of 30 min) from the beginning of stationary phase, the amount of α-amylase released was about 30% of the total amount of α-amylase that was produced in the cells. The release ratio and the total amount of α-amylase released were higher than that of batch cultivation. Suitable PEF treatment can be useful for easy and effective extracellular release of periplasmic proteins by fed-batch cultivation of recombinant E. coli.     

Emulsification by high frequency ultrasound using piezoelectric transducer: Formation and stability of emulsifier free emulsion

Emulsifier free emulsion was developed with a new patented technique for food and cosmetic applications. This emulsification process dispersed oil droplets in water without any emulsifier. Emulsions were prepared with different vegetable oil ratios 5%, 10% and 15% (v/v) using high frequency ultrasounds generated by piezoelectric ceramic transducer vibrating at 1.7 MHz. The emulsion was prepared with various emulsification times between 0 and 10 h. Oil droplets size was measured by laser granulometry. The pH variation was monitored; electrophoretic mobility and conductivity variation were measured using Zêtasizer equipment during emulsification process. The results revealed that oil droplets average size decreased significantly (p < 0.05) during the first 6 h of emulsification process and that from 160 to 1 μm for emulsions with 5%, 10% and from 400 to 29 μm for emulsion with 15% of initial oil ratio.For all tested oil ratios, pH measurement showed significant decrease and negative electrophoretic mobility showed the accumulation of OH⁻ at oil/water interface leading to droplets stability in the emulsion. The conductivity of emulsions showed a decrease of the ions quantity in solution, which indicated formation of positive charge layer around OH⁻ structure. They constitute a double ionic layer around oil particles providing emulsion stability. This study showed a strong correlation between turbidity measurement and proportion of emulsified oil.     

Performance of mid-wave T2SL detectors with heterojunction barriers

A heterojunction T2SL barrier detector which effectively blocks majority carrier leakage over the pn-junction was designed and fabricated for the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) atmospheric transmission window. The layers in the barrier region comprised AlSb, GaSb and InAs, and the thicknesses were selected by using k · P-based energy band modeling to achieve maximum valence band offset, while maintaining close to zero conduction band discontinuity in a way similar to the work of Abdollahi Pour et al. [1] The barrier-structure has a 50% cutoff at 4.75 μm and 40% quantum efficiency and shows a dark current density of 6 × 10⁻⁶ A/cm² at −0.05 V bias and 120 K. This is one order of magnitude lower than for comparable T2SL-structures without the barrier. Further improvement of the (non-surface related) bulk dark current can be expected with optimized doping of the absorber and barrier, and by fine tuning of the barrier layer design. We discuss the effect of barrier doping on dark current based on simulations. A T2SL focal plane array with 320 × 256 pixels, 30 μm pitch and 90% fill factor was processed in house using a conventional homojunction p–i–n photodiode architecture and the ISC9705 readout circuit. High-quality imaging up to 110 K was demonstrated with the substrate fully removed.     

Analysis of microscopic parameters of surface charging in polymer caused by defocused electron beam irradiation

The relationship between microscopic parameters and polymer charging caused by defocused electron beam irradiation is investigated using a dynamic scattering-transport model. The dynamic charging process of an irradiated polymer using a defocused 30 keV electron beam is conducted. In this study, the space charge distribution with a 30 keV non-penetrating e-beam is negative and supported by some existing experimental data. The internal potential is negative, but relatively high near the surface, and it decreases to a maximum negative value at z = 6 μm and finally tend to 0 at the bottom of film. The leakage current and the surface potential behave similarly, and the secondary electron and leakage currents follow the charging equilibrium condition. The surface potential decreases with increasing beam current density, trap concentration, capture cross section, film thickness and electron–hole recombination rate, but with decreasing electron mobility and electron energy. The total charge density increases with increasing beam current density, trap concentration, capture cross section, film thickness and electron–hole recombination rate, but with decreasing electron mobility and electron energy. This study shows a comprehensive analysis of microscopic factors of surface charging characteristics in an electron-based surface microscopy and analysis.     

The disinfection effect of a novel continuous-flow water sterilizing system coupling dual-frequency ultrasound with sodium hypochlorite in pilot scale

In this paper, a self-designed novel continuous-flow water disinfection system coupling dual-frequency ultrasound (US) with chemical disinfectant sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) was tested in a pilot scale using a simulated effluent containing Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), one of the indicators of water treatment efficiency. A suspension having a B. subtilis concentration of approximately 10⁴ CFU/mL was introduced into the system to (1) investigate disinfection efficiency of US pretreatment with NaClO (US + NaClO) and simultaneous US and NaClO (US/NaClO) disinfection under different single frequencies; (2) further examine the disinfection efficiency of these two processes with dual-frequency US; and (3) identify dosage reduction of chlorine in this disinfection system. The results demonstrated that lower dual-frequency (17 kHz + 33 kHz) US pretreatment with NaClO disinfection and simultaneous higher dual-frequency (70 kHz + 100 kHz) US and NaClO were beneficial to bacterial inactivation in terms of sterilizing efficiency. It has also been observed that US pretreatment with lower combination of 17 + 33 kHz frequencies showed better enhancement in which log reduction reached to 3.82 after 10 min chlorine reaction (chlorine alone was 0.22 log reduction), nearly 1 log reduction higher than single frequencies at the same constant power. Consequently, at equivalent power dissipation levels, US of lower frequencies combination pretreatment with NaClO disinfection performed such a promising process that one-thirds (from 12 mg/L NaClO reduced to 8 mg/L NaClO) of the required NaClO dosage was reduced for the ideal disinfection efficiency of 4 log reduction, namely 100% disinfection. And the utilization efficiency of NaClO was increased from 37.67% to 85.25% in 30 min of treatment time using an optimized combination of pretreatment and chlorination.     

Effects on Jc of pinning center morphology for multiple-in-line-damage in coated conductor and bulk,melt-textured HTS

The properties of discontinuous aligned pinning centers (PCs) created by high-energy heavy-ions are compared for bulk melt-textured and coated conductor HTS. Properties of PCs, which increase J_c (pinning potential and entanglement), and negative properties which decrease J_c (e.g., decreased T_c and percolation paths) are evaluated. Mechanisms are proposed to explain the very large increases in J_c resulting from multiple-in-line-damage (MILD) compared to continuous columnar pinning centers (CCPC). In particular, a mechanism which results in fluxoid entanglement, even for parallel (unsplayed) PCs, is discussed. The same mechanism is found to also account for restoration of much of the pinning potential expected to be lost due to the gaps in MILD PCs. It also accounts for the fact that at high fluence, J_c increases as fluence is increased, instead of decreasing as expected. The very low self-field in coated conductor permits separation of the negative and positive effects of PCs. It is found that parameters developed to quantify the negative effects in bulk melt-textured YBCO, by 63 GeV U²³⁸ ions, successfully describe damage to 2.1 μm thick coated conductor by 1 GeV Ru⁴⁴ ions. Coated conductor at 77 K and self-field is generally known to have J_c about 100 times that of melt-textured YBCO. However, at 77 K and applied field of 1 T, when both forms of HTS are processed with comparable numbers of near-optimum MILD PCs, the difference in J_c is reduced to a factor of 1.3–2. Whereas J_c for melt-textured YBCO increased sharply, by a factor of up to 16.8 for high-fluence MILD PCs, J_c in coated conductor increased by a smaller factor of 2.5–3.0. Nevertheless, 2.1 μm thick coated conductor, with near-optimum MILD PCs, exhibits J_c = 543 kA/cm² at 77 K and applied field of 1.0 T, and I_c = 114 A/cm-width of conductor. This is the highest value we find in the literature. The phenomenology developed indicates that for optimum MILD PCs in coated conductor, J_c ～ 700 ± 70 kA/cm² should be achievable at 77 K, 1.0 T.     

Effect of high intensity ultrasound on the fermentation profile of Lactobacillus sakei in a meat model system

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of high intensity ultrasound on the fermentation profile of Lactobacillus sakei in a meat model system. Ultrasound power level (0–68.5 W) and sonication time (0–9 min) at 20 °C were assessed against the growth of L. sakei using a Microplate reader over a period of 24 h. The L. sakei growth data showed a good fit with the Gompertz model (R² > 0.90; SE < 0.042). Second order polynomial models demonstrated the effect of ultrasonic power and sonication time on the specific growth rate (SGR, μ, h⁻¹) and lag phase (λ, h). A higher SGR and a shorter lag phase were observed at low power (2.99 W for 5 min) compared to control. Conversely, a decrease (p < 0.05) in SGR with an increase in lag phase was observed with an increase in ultrasonic power level. Cell-free extracts obtained after 24 h fermentation of ultrasound treated samples showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium at lower concentrations compared to control. No significant difference (p < 0.05) among treatments was observed for lactic acid content after a 24 h fermentation period. This study showed that both stimulation and retardation of L. sakei is possible, depending on the ultrasonic power and sonication time employed. Hence, fermentation process involving probiotics to develop functional food products can be tailored by selection of ultrasound processing parameters.     

Reduced crystallization time of YBCO in a fluorine-free MOD process using uv-lamp irradiation

We have studied the crystallization time dependence of the epitaxial YBCO films (t = 0.8 μm) grown on CeO₂-buffered SrTiO₃ substrates by fluorine-free metal–organic deposition using uv-lamp irradiation (uv-MOD). As increasing the time (T₀) for heat treatment at the reaction temperature (760 °C) from 0 to 90 min, J_c and the YBCO 0 0 l XRD intensity are steeply increased and reach their maximum values at T₀ = 10 min. This suggests that the heat treatment required for YBCO crystallization is significantly shortened in uv-MOD compared to conventional all-pyrolytic F-free MOD processes, which consume T₀ = 90–150 min for crystallizing 0.4–0.5-μm-thick films. Scanning electron microscope measurement revealed a drastic change in surface morphology between T₀ = 8 and 10 min, showing a good correspondence to the J_c and XRD data which suggest that the epitaxial growth reaches the film surface at the very early stage in the heat treatment.     

Sonication in combination with heat and low pressure as an alternative pasteurization treatment – Effect on Escherichia coli K12 inactivation and quality of apple cider

Escherichia coli K12 cells suspended in apple cider were treated by manothermosonication (MTS, 400 kPa/59 °C), thermosonication (TS, 100 kPa/59 °C), and manosonication (MS, 400 kPa/55 °C) for up to 4 min. A 5-log reduction was achieved in 1.4 min by MTS, 3.8 min by TS, and 2.5 min by MS. The inactivation curves of the E. coli exhibited a fast initial reduction followed by a slow inactivation section. The Weibull, log–logistic, and biphasic linear models showed a good fit of the inactivation data. Quality analyses were conducted with raw apple cider (control), thermally-pasteurized (TP), and MTS-, TS-, and MS-treated cider samples over a 3-week period at refrigeration temperature. Titratable acidity and pH did not differ among any of the samples. During storage, the turbidity value of the control was the highest, followed by TP, TS, MTS and MS. All color parameters of the TP sample were significantly different from those receiving the other treatments. The control and sonicated samples showed similar color parameters during storage. In total, 97 aroma compounds were identified in the control, TS-, MS-, and MTS-treated cider samples, while 95 aroma compounds were found in the TP at Week 0. Among all the aroma compounds, 9 key ones were identified in all samples, including ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, butyl acetate, 1-butanol, ethyl hexanoate, 1-hexanol, butanoic acid, β-damascenone, hexanoic acid, and octanoic acid. The profiles of the key aroma compounds in all sonicated samples were more similar to the control than the TP sample at Weeks 0 and 3.     

Effect of ultrasound frequency on antioxidant activity,total phenolic and anthocyanin content of red raspberry puree

Ultrasound in the 20–1000 kHz range show unique propagation characteristics in fluid media and possess energy that can break down fruit matrices to facilitate the extraction of valuable bioactive compounds. Red raspberries carry significant amounts of specific antioxidants, including ellagitannins and anthocyanins that are important for human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ultrasound frequencies associated with cavitation (20 kHz) and microstreaming (490 and 986 kHz) on total antioxidant activity (AOA), total phenolics content (TPC), and total monomeric anthocyanin content (ACY) of red raspberry puree prepared from crushed berries. The pureed fruit was subjected to high-intensity (20 kHz) and higher frequency-low intensity (490 and 986 kHz) ultrasound for 30 min. The temperature of treated purees increased to a maximum of 56 °C with 986 kHz. Sonication at 20 and 490 kHz significantly (p < 0.05) affected the AOA, ACY, and TPC of red raspberry puree, while 986 kHz had no significant effect on ACY and AOA (p < 0.05). In all cases, ultrasound treatment had significant and positive effect on at least one of the measured parameters up to 30 min. Sonication beyond 10 min (and up to 30 min) using 20 kHz either produced no change or caused a drop in AOA and ACY. However, for 986 and 20 kHz, TPC, increased by 10% and 9.5%, respectively after 30 min (p < 0.05) compared to the control. At 20 kHz, AOA and ACY increased by 17.3% and 12.6% after 10 min. It was demonstrated that 20 kHz ultrasound treatment, when limited to 10 min, was the most effective for extraction of bioactive compounds in red raspberry compared to 490 and 986 kHz although the effect could be similar at the higher frequencies if different amplitudes are used.     

Tunable characteristics of one dimensional magnetic photonic crystal composed with single-negative materials

In this paper, we present the study of dispersion and transmittance characteristics of one dimensional magnetic photonic crystal composed by single negative indexed materials. For this structure, we have considered magnetic negative (MNG) with ? = 1 and μ < 0 and electric negative (ENG) with ? < 0 and μ = 4. We used simple transfer matrix method and Bloch's theorem for its analytical explanations. Analyzing transmittance characteristics of the proposed structure, we obtain the tunneling of certain frequency range where as the dispersion characteristic shows total forbidden for the same range for TM mode. The tunable property is found inside the band structure due to zero-?, zero-μ and magnetic behavior of the material. To identify zero-? and zero-μ of the structure, we have calculated the dispersion and the transmittance of the magnetic structure of MNG–ENG on different angles of incidence and thickness of layers.     

Spin coating-pyrolysis derived highly c-axis-oriented ZnO layers pre-fired at various temperatures

Transparent ZnO layers were prepared on silica glass substrates by the spin coating-pyrolysis process. As-deposited films were pre-fired at 250 °C for 60 min, at 350 °C for 30 min, and at 500 °C for 10 min, followed by heat treatment at 900 °C for 30 min in air. The ZnO films were analyzed by high resolution X-ray diffraction, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, and ultraviolet–visible–near infrared spectrophotometry. (0 0 2)-oriented ZnO films were obtained by pre-firing at 350 °C and at 500 °C. All the ZnO films exhibited a high transmittance, above 80%, in the visible region, and showed a sharp fundamental absorption edge at 0.38–0.40 μm. The most highly c-axis-oriented ZnO with a homogeneous surface was observed at a pyrolysis temperature of 350 °C.     

Sonophotocatalytic inactivation of E. coli using ZnO nanofluids and its mechanism

The present study evaluated inactivation efficiency of a sonophotocatalytic process using ZnO nanofluids including ultrasonic parameters such as power density, frequency and time. The result showed that inactivation efficiency was increased by 20% when ultrasonic irradiation was combined with photocatalytic process in the presence of natural light. Comparison of inactivation efficiency in photocatalytic, ultrasonic and sonocatalytic processes using Escherichia coli as a model bacteria identified that inactivation efficiencies are shown in the following order: ultrasonic irradiation < sonocatalysis < photocatalysis < sonophotocatalysis. Furthermore, inactivation mechanism of sonophotocatalysis was proposed. Studies of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and zinc ions (Zn²⁺) release evaluation revealed that ROS play a key role in bacterial inactivation rather than Zn²⁺. Permeability of outer membrane (OM) and inner membrane (IM) of E. coli bacterial cells were studied and exhibited that sonophotocatalysis increased the permeability of OM and IM significantly. The enhanced bacterial inactivation effect in sonophotocatalytic process contributed to acoustic cavitation, sonocatalysis of ZnO and sonoporation phenomenon.     

The lightning striking distance—Revisited

First return stroke current waveforms measured by Berger [Methods and results of lightning records at Monte San Salvatore from 1963–1971 (in German), Bull. Schweiz. Elektrotech. ver. 63 (1972) 21403—21422] and Berger and Vogelsanger [Measurement and results of lightning records at Monte San Salvatore from 1955–1963 (in German), Bull. Schweiz. Elektrotech. ver. 56 (1965) 2–22] are used to estimate the charge stored in the lightning stepped leader channel. As opposed to previous charge estimates based on the entire current waveform, only the initial portion of measured current waveforms (100 μs in duration) was used in order to avoid the inclusion of any charges not involved in the effective neutralization of charges originally stored on the leader channel. The charge brought to ground by the return stroke within the first 100 μs, Q_f,100 μs (in C) is related to the first return stroke peak current, I_pf (in kA), as Q_f,100 μs=0.61 I_pf. From this equation the charge distribution of the stepped leader as a function of the corresponding peak return stroke current is estimated. This distribution (along with the assumed average electric field of 500 kV/m in the final gap) is used to estimate the lightning striking distance S (in meters) to a flat ground as a function of the prospective return stroke peak current I (in kA): S=1.9 I_pf^0.90. For the median first stroke peak current of 30 kA one obtains S=41 m, while the traditional equation, S=10 I_pf^0.65, gives S=91 m. In our view, the new equation for striking distance provides a more physically realistic basis for the electro-geometric approach widely used in estimating lightning incidence to power lines and other structures.     

Ultrasonic emulsification of food-grade nanoemulsion formulation and evaluation of its bactericidal activity

Basil oil (Ocimum basilicum) nanoemulsion was formulated using non-ionic surfactant Tween80 and water by ultrasonic emulsification method. Process of nanoemulsion development was optimized for parameters such as surfactant concentration and emulsification time to achieve minimum droplet diameter with high physical stability. Surfactant concentration was found to have a negative correlation with droplet diameter, whereas emulsification time had a positive correlation with droplet diameter and also with intrinsic stability of the emulsion. Stable basil oil nanoemulsion with droplet diameter 29.3 nm was formulated by ultrasonic emulsification for 15 min. Formulated nanoemulsion was evaluated for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli by kinetics of killing experiment. Fluorescence microscopy and FT-IR results showed that nanoemulsion treatment resulted alteration in permeability and surface features of bacterial cell membrane.