Photoinduced bactericidal activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa by TiO2 based thin films

The photoinduced bactericidal capacity of TiO2 based films was evaluated, using as model organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thin films were obtained by spray pyrolysis; they included undoped, Cu doped, and Al doped TiO2. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the final effect of the irradiated films upon the bacteria. Depending on the composition and characteristics of the films, quantitative experiments show that bacterial inhibition varies between 28 and 96%. The order of magnitude of the average quantum yield of the Films was determined between 10(-9) and 10(-11) inhibited bacterial per photon. (C) 2002 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.