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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2006, p. 6111-6116, Vol. 72, No. 9
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02580-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Visible-Light-Induced Bactericidal Activity of a Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Photocatalyst against Human Pathogens

Ming-Show Wong,1 Wen-Chen Chu,2 Der-Shan Sun,3,4,5 Hsuan-Shun Huang,3 Jiann-Hwa Chen,6 Pei-Jane Tsai,7 Nien-Tsung Lin,8 Mei-Shiuan Yu,8 Shang-Feng Hsu,1 Shih-Lien Wang,8 and Hsin-Hou Chang3,4,9*

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Dong-Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan,1 Institute of Molecular Biology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan,6 Department of Life Science,2 Institute of Medical Sciences,3 Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology,4 Institute of Human Genetics,5 Institute of Medical Biotechnology,7 Institute of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Medicine,8 Tzu-Chi University Center for Vascular Medicine, Tzu-Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China9

Received 1 November 2005/ Accepted 4 July 2006

The antibacterial activity of photocatalytic titanium dioxide (TiO2) substrates is induced primarily by UV light irradiation. Recently, nitrogen- and carbon-doped TiO2 substrates were shown to exhibit photocatalytic activities under visible-light illumination. Their antibacterial activity, however, remains to be quantified. In this study, we demonstrated that nitrogen-doped TiO2 substrates have superior visible-light-induced bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli compared to pure TiO2 and carbon-doped TiO2 substrates. We also found that protein- and light-absorbing contaminants partially reduce the bactericidal activity of nitrogen-doped TiO2 substrates due to their light-shielding effects. In the pathogen-killing experiment, a significantly higher proportion of all tested pathogens, including Shigella flexneri, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Acinetobacter baumannii, were killed by visible-light-illuminated nitrogen-doped TiO2 substrates than by pure TiO2 substrates. These findings suggest that nitrogen-doped TiO2 has potential application in the development of alternative disinfectants for environmental and medical usages.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Room D407, Tzu-Chi University, No. 701, Section 3, Chung-Yang Road, Hualien 970, Taiwan. Phone: 886-3-8565301, ext. 7296. Fax: 886-3-8578386. E-mail: hhchang{at}mail.tcu.edu.tw.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2006, p. 6111-6116, Vol. 72, No. 9
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02580-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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