Sains Malaysiana 52(10)(2023): 2931-2942

Antimicrobial Property of Photocatalytic Nanoparticles-Coated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on Bacteria and Fungi

(Peralatan Pelindung Diri (PPE) bersalut Nanozarah Fotopemangkin yang Bersifat antimikrob terhadap Bakteria dan Kulat)

SUBASH NAMBIAR SREE PATHI¹, NORAZIAH MOHAMAD ZIN^1,*, NURUL AMIRA ABD RAHIM¹, NUR FAIZAH ABU BAKAR¹ & WONG KON KEN²

¹Centre for Diagnostic, Therapeutic and Investigative Studies, Faculty of Health Science, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

²Department of Microbiology and Medical Immunology, Pre-Clinical Building, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Received: 3 July 2023/Accepted: 7 September 2023

Abstract

Photocatalytic nanoparticles are new applications that can be used as coatings on surfaces through a photocatalytic process that reacts in the presence of chemical catalysts and light. The resulting reactive oxygen species (ROS) would damage pathogenic components and result in antimicrobial effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of photocatalytic nanoparticles on personal protective equipment (PPE), namely surgical gowns and masks. Antimicrobial testing of photocatalytic nanoparticles against PPE inoculated with pathogens was carried out. The growth log reduction of isolates tested on the photocatalytic nanoparticles-coated PPE showed 100% with growth reduction exceeding 4 log against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 as well as Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 but less than 50% reduction against Candida albicans ATCC 10231. For 20 h incubation periods, both bacteria showed growth reduction of at least 4 log with 99.99% of reduction. The 5 and 20 times washing effects showed an overall reduction of 99.99%-100% against both bacteria but less than 99.99% against C. albicans. Photocatalytic nanocoating produces an antimicrobial effect that helps to kill the tested pathogens and reduce the attachment of bacteria but not fungi, on the surface of PPE. This nanoparticle is capable of continuous self-disinfection to reduce the number of pathogens. The number of washing cycle also does not affect its function to reduce the number of pathogens.

Keywords: Antimicrobial; nanoparticle; personal protective equipment (PPE); photocatalytic

Abstrak

Nanozarah fotopemangkin adalah aplikasi baharu yang boleh digunakan sebagai salutan pada permukaan melalui proses fotokatalitik yang bertindak balas dengan kehadiran bahan pemangkin kimia dan cahaya. Spesies oksigen reaktif (ROS) yang terhasil akan merosakkan komponen patogen dan menghasilkan kesan antimikrob. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menilai sifat antimikrob nanozarah fotokatalitik pada peralatan pelindung diri (PPE), iaitu gaun pembedahan dan pelitup muka. Ujian antimikrob nanozarah fotopemangkin pada PPE yang diinokulasi dengan patogen telah dijalankan. Pengurangan log pertumbuhan bagi pencilan yang diuji pada PPE bersalut nanozarah fotopemangkin menunjukkan 100% dengan pengurangan pertumbuhan melebihi 4 log terhadap Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 serta Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 tetapi pengurangan kurang daripada 50% terhadap Candida albicans ATCC 10231. Bagi tempoh pengeraman 20 jam, kedua-dua bakteria menunjukkan pengurangan pertumbuhan sekurang-kurangnya 4 log dengan pengurangan 99.99%. Kesan 5 dan 20 kali basuhan menunjukkan pengurangan keseluruhan 99.99%-100% terhadap kedua-dua bakteria tetapi kurang daripada 99.99% terhadap C. albicans. Salutan nanozarah menghasilkan kesan antimikrob yang membantu membunuh pathogen yang dijuji dan mengurangkan perlekatan bakteria tetapi bukan kulat pada permukaan PPE. Nanozarah ini mampu melakukan pembasmian tersendiri secara berterusan untuk mengurangkan bilangan patogen. Bilangan basuhan juga tidak menjejaskan fungsinya untuk mengurangkan bilangan patogen tersebut.

Kata kunci: Antimikrob; fotopemangkin; nanozarah; peralatan perlindungan diri (PPE)

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*Corresponding author; email: noraziah.zin@ukm.edu.my