Photocatalytic antimicrobial activity of thin surface films of TiO2, CuO and TiO2 /CuO dual layers on Escherichia coli and bacteriophage T4

Ditta, IB; Steele, A; Liptrott, C; Tobin, J; Tyler, H; Yates, HM; Sheel, DW; Foster, HA

doi:10.1007/s00253-008-1411-8

Photocatalytic antimicrobial activity of thin surface films of TiO2, CuO and TiO2 /CuO dual layers on Escherichia coli and bacteriophage T4

Ditta, IB; Steele, A; Liptrott, C; Tobin, J; Tyler, H; Yates, HM; Sheel, DW; Foster, HA

Authors

IB Ditta

A Steele

C Liptrott

J Tobin

H Tyler

HM Yates

DW Sheel

HA Foster

Abstract

TiO2 coated surfaces are increasingly studied for their ability to inactivate microorganisms. The activity of glass coated with thin films of TiO2, CuO and hybrid CuO/TiO2 prepared by atmospheric Chemical Vapour Deposition (Ap-CVD) and TiO2 prepared by a sol-gel process was investigated using the inactivation of bacteriophage T4 as a model for
inactivation of viruses. The chemical oxidising activity was also determined by measuring stearic acid oxidation. The results showed that the rate of inactivation of bacteriophage T4 increased with increasing chemical oxidising activity with the maximum rate obtained on
highly active sol-gel preparations. However these were delicate and easily damaged unlike the Ap-CVD coatings. Inactivation rates were highest on CuO and CuO/TiO2 which had the lowest chemical oxidising activities. The inactivation of T4 was higher than that of Escherichia coli on low activity surfaces. The combination of photocatalysis and toxicity of copper acted synergistically to inactivate bacteriophage T4 and retained some selfcleaning activity. The presence of phosphate ions slowed inactivation but NaCl had no effect. The results show that TiO2/CuO coated surfaces are highly antiviral and may have applications in the food and healthcare industries.

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2008
Deposit Date	Oct 21, 2011
Publicly Available Date	Oct 21, 2011
Journal	Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Print ISSN	0175-7598
Electronic ISSN	1432-0614
Publisher	Springer Verlag
Peer Reviewed	Not Peer Reviewed
Volume	79
Issue	1
Pages	127-133
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-008-1411-8
Keywords	Antimicrobial, bacteriophage T4, CVD, Escherichia coli, photocatalysis, surfaces, TiO2
Publisher URL	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00253-008-1411-8