Glass Powders with a High Content of Calcium Oxide: A Step Towards a Green Universal Biocide

It is shown that soda-lime glass powders (d < 100 mu m) with a content of CaO ranging from 15 to 20 wt-% are strong inorganic biocide agents, with a logarithm of reduction > 4, versus Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and yeasts. First, the glass particles are attached to the cell membrane; then, the Ca(2+) lixiviated from the glass particles surface brings about membrane depolarization and subsequent death of the cells.