TABLE 1.

A summary of the destruction of bacteria by MW in vitro.

Experimental setup
MW frequency (GHz)	Energy/power	Exposure temperature (°C)	Exposure time	Biological target/object	Effects	References
–	700 W	100	3 min	Retorted vegetables	MW reduced the bacteria level by 103CFU/g.	Cho and Chung, 2020
0.915	6 kW	90	5 min	Peanut butter	L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium in peanut butter was reduced.	Song and Kang, 2016
2.45	600 W	100	5 min	Sludge	MW pretreatment could remove 13.5–35.5% of ARBs in the pH range down from 10 to 2.5.	Tong et al., 2016
2.45	465 W	71	1 min	Sludge	After the exposure to MW irradiation, in a 20 g sludge sample, the concentration of E. Coli decreased to below than analytical detection levels.	Mawioo et al., 2016
–	260 W/m3	100	20 s	E. coli	MW irradiation induced airborne E. coli lysis of 4.1 log reduction in 20 s.	Wang et al., 2019b
2.45	800 W	25–100	1 min	C. difficile spore	After MW treatment, C. difficile spore complete inactivation in aqueous suspension at 107 CFU/ml.	Ojha et al., 2016
2.45	700 W	–	1.5 min	B. subtilis spores and Pseudomonas fluorescens	Under MW irradiation, only 35% of B. subtilis spores survived and 5.8% of Pseudomonas fluorescens survived.	Wu and Yao, 2010
2.45	750 W	–	1.5 min	B. subtilis spores	B. subtilis spores achieved 3 log disinfection.	Zhang et al., 2010
2.45	500 W	–	1.5 min	E. coli	E. coli under the detection limit.	Zhang et al., 2010
4.592	650 W	–	3 min	Polymethyl methacrylate disks	MW combination for 3 min reduced C. albicans biofilm formation.	Martinez-Serna et al., 2021
2.45	150 W	70–110	5 min	Bacillus cereus biofilms	MW irradiation achieved complete inactivation of Bacillus cereus biofilms.	Park et al., 2017