Antifungal Activity of TiO₂/Ag Nanoparticles under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

The doping of TiO2 by Ag(I) from [Ag(S2O3)2]3– contained in radiophotography wastewater by photoreduction method has been performed. TiO2/AgNPs photocatalyst was examined for its activity as an antifungal material for the inhibition of C. albicans in water under visible light irradiation. In the doping process, the weight of TiO2 was varied to obtain TiO2/AgNPs with different amounts of Ag. The TiO2/AgNPs samples were characterized by using FTIR, SRUV, TEM, SEM-EDX, and XRD methods. The antifungal test was carried out by disc diffusion method under visible light irradiation, wherein the amount of Ag-doped on TiO2, the dose of TiO2/AgNPs, and the irradiation time were optimized. The research results indicated that the antifungal activity of TiO2/AgNPs in inhibiting C. albicans has been successfully prepared. The highest inhibition was achieved by using 0.5 g/L of TiO2/AgNPs (I), at 5 h of irradiation time.

Comparison of Photocatalytic Biocidal Activity of TiO2, ZnO and Au/ZnO on Escherichia coli and on Aspergillus niger under Light Intensity Close to Real-Life Conditions

“…One investigation has shown the ability of TiO 2 to inhibit the growth of A. niger on woods, but these results were obtained at very high light intensities [59]. It is important to highlight that previous findings showed higher fungicidal activity of TiO 2 mixed with Ag NPs on A. niger but these results were again obtained using a very high light intensity of 40 W/m 2 [62] or by continuous UV irradiation for 20 days [59]. For ZnO and metal-doped ZnO, previous papers reported their effectiveness on yeasts growing on plants and the possibility to use them in agriculture for plant protections from pathogenic yeasts [40,42,60,63].…”

Tio2 Photocatalytic Biocidal Activity on Escherichia Coli and On Aspergillus Niger under Different Methodological Conditions

“…TiO2 shows a weaker activity on A. niger spores compared to its activity on E. coli cells (Figure 3). Previous findings showed a higher antifungal activity of TiO2 mixed with Ag nanoparticles on Aspergillus niger but these results were obtained using a very high light intensity of 40W/m 2 [40] or by continuous UV irradiation for 20 days [39]. The ability of TiO2 to damage the cell membrane of E. coli explains its high antibacterial activity [22,41].…”