Adhesion and inactivation of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria on photoreactive TiO2/polymer and Ag-TiO2/polymer nanohybrid films

The aim of this study was to develop photoreactive surface coatings, possessing antibacterial properties and can be activated under visible light illumination (lambda(max) = 405 nm) using LED-light source. The photocatalytically active titanium dioxide (TiO2) was functionalized with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and immobilized in polyacrylate based nanohybrid thin film in order to facilitate visible light activity (lambda(Ag/TiO2,max) = 500 nm). First, the photocatalytic activity was modelled by following ethanol vapor degradation. The plasmonic functionalization resulted in 15% enhancement of the activity compared to pure TiO2. The photoreactive antimicrobial (5 log reduction of cfu in 2 h) surface coatings are able to inactivate clinically relevant pathogen strains (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) within short time (60-120 min) due to the formed and quantified reactive oxygen species (ROS). The existence of electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged bacteria (from -0.89 to -3.19 mu eq/10(9) cfu) and positively charged photocatalyst particles (in the range of +0.38 and +12.3 meq/100 g) was also proven by charge titration measurements. The surface inactivation of the bacteria and the photocatalytic degradation of the cell wall component were also confirmed by fluorescence and transmission electron microscopic observations, respectively. According to the results an effective sterilizing system and prevention strategy can be developed and carried out against dangerous microorganisms in health care. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.