2017 Volume 34 Pages 234-240
The increasing number of touch surface mediated infections has steered research to look for alternative strategies that can prevent infection transmission via pathogen inactivation on surfaces. Anatase, a crystalline form of titanium dioxide, shows strong UV induced photocatalytic properties. However, nanoparticles of anatase have been found to inactivate organic contaminants in the visible spectrum. Degradation of mordant orange and inactivation of S. aureus was evaluated on anatase surfaces under visible light band pass filters across the visible light region. Inactivation shows a strong co-relation to the absorption spectrum of the dye/microbe on the surface of the anatase coating. The phenomenon is similar to dye sensitized solar cells and was not found to exist in coatings with a higher bandgap such as amorphous silica. Photocatalytic nano-crystalline anatase coatings hold potential as a visible light active disinfectant to inactivate microbes on touch surfaces over long periods of time.
