Mechanisms of acidic electrolyzed water killing bacteria

Given that acidic electrolyzed water (AEW), a newly invented and effective disinfectant, is widely used to kill bacteria in many fields, the sterilization mechanism of action is not clear yet. In this study, we demonstrated the molecular sterilization mechanism of AEW treatment on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (three prevalent food-borne pathogenic bacteria, i.e., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Vibrio parahemolyticus) using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscope-Nanometer infrared imaging, antibiotic target test and qRT-PCR. AEW mainly induced oligopeptide destruction at the joints between alanine and N-acetylmuramic acid in bacterial cell wall, then forming holes in the cell wall, subsequently destroying disulfide bonds in cell membrane proteins, increasing the permeability of cell membrane, intracellular fluid dissipation and AEW invasion into the cell to demolish nucleic acids and other bioactive substances, finally leading to cell death. Moreover, the developed methodology could be a powerful tool for an extensive revelation of the response mechanisms of biological cells to environmental stimuli.