Advances in biofilm control for food and beverage industry using organo-silane technology: A review

• Cell adhesion can be a problem and a valuable tool for microbiological engineering.
• Organo-silanes may be used to enhance or reduce microbial adhesion in food industry.
• Organo-silane modified materials should be inert, without interactions with food.

Cell adhesion can be a potential problem as well as a valuable tool for microbiological engineering. It can lead to biofouling, contamination of product and corrosion. On the other hand, cell adhesion is purposely employed in fermenters and bioreactors to influence reactor performance. This paper presents an overview of organo-functional silanes – their chemistry, properties, use, and the main laboratory experiments that can be of interest to the food and beverage industry. The purpose is to introduce and explore possibilities for using organo-silane combinations to enhance or reduce microbial adhesion.