Nanostructured titania doped with silver nanoparticles for photocatalytic water disinfection

This research presents simple, reproducible and efficient technology of fabrication of TiO2/Ag NPs photocatalytic system for degradation of microbial pollutants from water, namely Candida glabrata. This type of yeast was... [ view full abstract ]

This research presents simple, reproducible and efficient technology of fabrication of TiO2/Ag NPs photocatalytic system for degradation of microbial pollutants from water, namely Candida glabrata. This type of yeast was considered as relatively non-pathogenic fungi for a long time. However, recently with increased usage of immunosuppressive agents combined with antimycotic therapy, systemic infections at individuals with immunodeficiency caused by this fungi have significantly increased as well. Nowadays, occurrence of Candida glabrata is very enlarged which increases the risk of fungal diseases, tooth decay and various infections of mucosal tissues, urogenital system or digestive tract. This work presents fabrication of highly effective TiO2/Ag NPs photocatalytic system active in visible spectrum which was created via anodization of Ti thin film and subsequently doped with silver nanoparticles via in situ UV-assisted synthesis and electrochemical deposition process. Its photocatalytic antimicrobial efficiency was tested on model organism Candida glabrata in different irradiation periods employing fluorescent tubes as light source. The efficiency of TiO2/Ag NPs photocatalytic system was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy using acridine orange dye as indicator of yeast cell viability. The morphology characterization of TiO2 with and without doping was provided by scanning electron microscopy.