Titanium dioxide-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic action on microorganisms

Abstract

The problem of bacterial resistance to various types of antibiotics is becoming more and more urgent. Many studies have shown that pathogenic microorganisms have acquired resistance to many antibiotics used in modern medicine. Every year more and more new antibiotics are synthesized, but bacteria acquire resistance to them.
In modern medicine, they are looking for various ways out of this situation. One of the solutions to this problem is photodynamic antimicrobial therapy.
Photodynamic therapy may become an alternative treatment for infectious diseases. In addition, PDT can be used in everyday life. Recently, the issue of creating self-cleaning surfaces for their use, primarily in hospitals and the food industry, has become relevant. The coatings based on photocatalytic materials will be environmentally friendly and effective.
The project concerns the development of new composite materials based on inorganic nanostructures and nanoparticles (Al2O3-TiO2) for use as heterogeneous photocatalysts to regulate the growth of microorganisms. In the course of this work, the reactions of a wide spectrum of microorganisms from sanitary-significant (S. aureus, E. coli) to phyto- (Alternaria alternata, Erwinia carotovora) and entomopathogenic (Bacillus thuringiensis, Xenorhabdus luminescens) microorganisms to the complex action of optical radiation and nanomaterials will be investigated. The use of optical radiation of the UVA and blue range (365-405 nm), choice of the size and composition of nanoparticles and nanocomposites, research on key parameters and their optimization and modelling will make it possible to predict and control relevant reactions and population of the strains of microorganisms.

Speaker

Svetlakova A.V.
Saratov National Research State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky
Russia

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