Photobiocidal Activity of TiO<sub>2</sub>/UHMWPE Composite Activated by Reduced Graphene Oxide under White Light.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38917338.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00939 and PMC identifier 11299222.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Herein, we introduce a photobiocidal surface activated by white light. The photobiocidal surface was produced through thermocompressing a mixture of titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>), ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) powders. A photobiocidal activity was not observed on UHMWPE-TiO<sub>2</sub>. However, UHMWPE-TiO<sub>2</sub>@rGO exhibited potent photobiocidal activity (>3-log reduction) against <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i> bacteria after a 12 h exposure to white light. The activity was even more potent against the phage phi 6 virus, a SARS-CoV-2 surrogate, with a >5-log reduction after 6 h exposure to white light. Our mechanistic studies showed that the UHMWPE-TiO<sub>2</sub>@rGO was activated only by UV light, which accounts for 0.31% of the light emitted by the white LED lamp, producing reactive oxygen species that are lethal to microbes. This indicates that adding rGO to UHMWPE-TiO<sub>2</sub> triggered intense photobiocidal activity even at shallow UV flux levels.
Medical subject headings
- Graphite
- Titanium
- Polyethylenes
- Staphylococcus epidermidis
- Escherichia coli
- Light