2017
Volume 17, Number 2, pp. 47–51
Can bacteria develop resistance to photocatalytically generated reactive oxygen species?
J.J. Ramsden
Clore Laboratory, The University of Buckingham, MK18 1EG, UK
The context of this work is the use of photocatalytic antimicrobial materials for destroying bacteria on surfaces, as an alternative to conventional disinfection and sterilization. These materials produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially •OOH and •OH radicals, which act in the same way as those produced by other means. Although bacteria are equipped with physiological systems to defend themselves against some ROS, such as hydrogen peroxide and the superoxide anion, the hydroxyl radicals are more aggressive and no effective defence appears to be possible. Hence, it is concluded that resistance is unlikely to develop.
Keywords: disinfection, irradiation, photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, radicals, semiconductors, sterilization, titanium dioxide