11-Tungstophosphate with Iron(II) and Hydrogen Peroxide Efficiently Detached Bacterial Biofilm

Abstract

An attempt was made to detach bacterial biofilm, formed by Staphylococcus epidermidis, by using hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and tungsten compounds. When iron(II) (Fe²⁺) was mixed with undecatungstophosphate ([PW₁₁O₃₉]⁷⁻) and then H₂O₂, the resulting mixture was able to totally remove the biofilm probably because of co-generation of ¹O₂ and ·OH. A mixture of undecatungstosilicate ([SiW₁₁O₃₉]⁸⁻) and Fe²⁺ (or Cu²⁺) also gave a good result, but their catalytic activities for producing ·OH (or ¹O₂) were rather weak. An electron microscopic study showed that almost nothing was visible on the surface of a biofilm-coated glass after treatment with 1mM [PW₁₁O₃₉]⁷⁻+1 mM Fe²⁺ and 500 mM H₂O₂ (incubated for 1 h at 37 °C).