Course description
The objective of this course is to gain an in-depth knowledge of the food safety in modern society with an emphasis on the microbiological aspects. The basic knowledge about surface characterization will be delivered. The mechanism for bacterial adhesion will be shown. The focus will be on the prevention of microbial adhesion. The course will come in touch with physico-chemical aspects of microbial adhesion for the removal of microorganisms attached to the surface. Self-cleaning and antibacterial/antiviral surfaces will be presented. Finally, the societal problems related to hygiene in the cities will be discussed.
The objective of this course is also to gain an in-depth knowledge of environmental physics with an emphasis on the modern approaches also containing the context of the society. The focus is given to sustainable energy and climate change. Since nuclear power energy and fossil fuels were extensively used in the past also the environmental and physical aspects of decreasing the risk of this type of energy are considered. The course will come in touch with physico-chemical aspects of advanced oxidation methods for the removal of pollutants present in water and air. The basic knowledge of chemical and physical mechanisms of photocatalysis will be given with an emphasis on catalytic degradation of pollutants. Self-cleaning and antibacterial/antiviral surfaces will be introduced as well. Finally, the societal problems related to energy supply, pollution, climate changes, fossil fuels and uranium production will be discussed.

Content:
1. Food, Modern Society
2. Surface characterization, Important microorganisms
3. Adhesion to surfaces and Biofilm formation
4. Removal of adhered bacteria
5. Prevention in the Society
6. Development of antibacterial coatings
7. Sustainable energy supply
8. Climate and climate change
9. Solar energy and heat engines, Renewable energy
10. Methods of water and air purification with the help of photocatalytic materials
11. Dispersion of pollutants and techniques for monitoring the efficiency of pollutant removal
12. Development of self-cleaning and antibacterial/antiviral surfaces and their characterization
13. The context of the society

Competences:
• Knowledge of the advanced food course, knowledge in surface characterization
• Understanding the mechanisms of adhesion, knowledge in the types of surface coatings, keeping hygiene
• Knowledge of the advance environmental course, knowledge in sustainable energy and climate changes
• Understanding of photocatalysis, self-cleaning antibacterial surfaces
• An efficient translation of scientific research expertise into practical experiments of selected pollutant

Learning outcomes of the course
1. The ability to gain deeper knowledge of food science in the society
2. The ability to identify main directions in the food safety
3. The ability to gain deeper knowledge of environmental science
4. The ability to identify main directions in the environmental science
5. The ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practice
6. The ability to learn measuring techniques and equipment
7. Get acquainted with new trends in the field
8. Get deeper inside of the problems in the context of the society

Teaching and evaluation methods
• Lectures and seminars.
• The seminar is based on scientific literature in the field
• Presentations of seminars to other students in the group, critical evaluation of the scientific literature
• Individual work with students.

Presentation and defense of the seminar (50% of the note), Oral exam (50% of the note).

Bibliography
1. Norde, Willem, Colloids and Interfaces in Life Sciences and Bionanotechnology , CRS Press, 2011.
2. An, Yuehuei H., Friedman, Richard, Handbook of Bacterial Adhesion, Springer, 2000.
3. A. Zore, K. Bezek, M: Jevšnik, A. Abram, V. Runko, I. Sliškovič, P. Raspor, D. Kovačević, K. Bohinc. Bacterial adhesion rate on food grade ceramics and Teflon as kitchen worktop surfaces. International journal of food microbiology. 2020, vol. 332, str. 108764-1-108764-5.
4. Boeker, Egbert and van Grondelle, Rienk, Environmental Physics, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
5. Monteith, Johan and Unsworth, Mike, Principles of environmental physics, Academic press, 2007.
6. Oppenländer, Thomas, Photochemical purification of water and air: advanced oxidation processes (AOPs)-principles, reaction mechanisms, reactor concepts. John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
7. Butt, Hans-Jürgen, Kappl, Michael, Surface and Interfacial Forces, 2nd Ed., Wiley-VCH, 2018

Last updated: May 27, 2024