Broad Spectrum Microbicidal Activity of Photocatalysis by TiO2

Catalysts

Ryuichi Nakano²  Masayuki Hara³  Hitoshi Ishiguro³  Yanyan Yao³  Tsuyoshi Ochiai³  Kazuya Nakata³  Taketoshi Murakami³  Jitsuo Kajioka³  Kayano Sunada³  Kazuhito Hashimoto¹  Akira Fujishima³ 

[1] Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan; E-Mail:;Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan; E-Mail:;Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012, Japan; E-Mails:

关键词: photocatalysis;    disinfection;    drug resistant bacterium;    virus;    UV-A;    TiO₂;   

DOI  :  10.3390/catal3010310

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Photocatalytically active titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is widely used as a self-cleaning and self-disinfecting material in many applications to keep environments biologically clean. Several studies on the inactivation of bacteria and viruses by photocatalytic reactions have also been reported; however, only few studies evaluated the spectrum of the microbicidal activity with photocatalysis for various species. There is a need to confirm the expected effectiveness of disinfection by photocatalysis against multidrug-resistant bacteria and viruses. In this study, microbicidal activity of photocatalysis was evaluated by comparing the inactivation of various species of bacteria and viruses when their suspensions were dropped on the surface of TiO₂-coated glass. Gram-positive bacteria, e.g., methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, were easily inactivated by photocatalysis, whereas some gram-negative bacteria, e.g., Escherichia coli and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were gradually inactivated by photocatalysis. Influenza virus, an enveloped virus, was significantly inactivated by photocatalysis compared with feline calicivirus, a non-enveloped virus. The effectiveness of microbicidal activity by photocatalysis may depend on the surface structure. However, they are effectively inactivated by photocatalysis on the surface of TiO₂-coated glass. Our data emphasize that effective cleaning and disinfection by photocatalysis in nosocomial settings prevents pathogen transmission.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.