Engineered food-derived hesperetin as heterojunction photosensitizer for inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus and degrading patulin, and its application in perishable strawberries.

The potential contamination, including microbial and mycotoxin infection, may escape from the naked eye, posing great threats to food products. Recently, photodynamic inactivation (PDI)-based technology particular has received particular attention because of their high safety. Herein, food-derived hesperetin (Hst) was innovatively introduced as an esculent photosensitizer, engineering with food-grade TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) to form an organic-inorganic heterojunction structure. Triggered by visible light, the obtained TiO 2 /Hst NPs were endowed with efficient photoactivity, achieving higher inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus (antibacterial ratio of 98.3 %). The removal capacities of the TiO 2 /Hst NPs towards patulin (PAT) reached approximately 17.76 μg mg -1 , approximately 2 times higher than TiO 2 and Hst. The engineered TiO 2 /Hst NPs were used as the food surface detergent to achieve the ideal inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and patulin performance on the surface of perishable strawberries, extending the storage life of strawberries.