Optimization of Inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus by Low Concentration Electrolyzed Water Using Response Surface Methodology

The objective of this study was to investigate the combined effect of temperature (15-35 degrees C), pH (3-9), and dipping time (1-5 min) on the inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus in broth treated with low concentration electrolyzed water (LcEW). Reductions of 1.44-7.12 log CFU/mL were observed in different combinations of the 3 factors. Also, a quadratic equation for S. aureus inactivation kinetic was developed by multiple regression analysis using response surface methodology. The predicted values were shown to be significantly in good agreement with experimental values as a result of the level of significance was p<0.0001. Besides, the developed model was validated by fitting with literature data and the results showed that the predictions had a good agreement with the observed data with a satisfied determination of coefficient (R-2=0.963).