Investigating the antifungal activity of TiO₂ nanoparticles deposited on branched carbon nanotube arrays

Abstract

Branched carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays were synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition on a silicon substrate. Ni was used as the catalyst and played an important role in the realization of branches in vertically aligned nanotubes. TiO2 nanoparticles on the branched CNTs were produced by atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition followed by a 500 °C annealing step. Transmission and scanning electron microscopic techniques were used to study the morphology of the TiO2/branched CNT structures while x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to verify the characteristics of the prepared nanostructures. Their antifungal effect on Candida albicans biofilms under visible light was investigated and compared with the activity of TiO2/CNT arrays and thin films of TiO2. The TiO2/branched CNTs showed a highly improved photocatalytic antifungal activity in comparison with the TiO2/CNTs and TiO2 film. The excellent visible light-induced photocatalytic antifungal activity of the TiO2/branched CNTs was attributed to the generation of electron–hole pairs by visible light excitation with a low recombination rate, in addition to the high surface area provided for the interaction between the cells and the nanostructures. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the resulting morphological changes in the cell body of the biofilms existing on the antifungal samples.

Review on the Antimicrobial Properties of Carbon Nanostructures

“…Furthermore, branched CNTs were prepared to develop tree-like nanocomposites of TiO 2 /branched-CNTs, which revealed highly enhanced photo-catalytic behaviour against C. albicans in comparison with the TiO 2 /CNTs and TiO 2 thin film. The outstanding visible light-induced biological efficacy of TiO 2 /branched-CNTs is related to the creation of electron—hole pairs by light irradiation with a low recombination rate, as well as the high surface area available for the heterostructure–cell interactions [ 104 ].…”

Antifungal activity of TiO2/AgBr nanocomposites on some phytopathogenic fungi

“…Among the nanomaterials, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been gained great attention compared to CuO, ZnO, etc. to reduce the fungal diseases, because of its low cost, eco‐friendly nature, unique physicochemical properties, and high stability (Darbari et al., 2011; Huang et al., 2013). Despite the appealing features, TiO 2 revealed low antifungal efficiency in practical applications (Beltrán‐Partida et al., 2017).…”

“…Nowadays, the use of nanomaterials as efficient and eco-friendly agents in the control of plant pathogens has been successfully studied (Balaure et al, 2017;Hayles et al, 2017;Khan & Rizvi, 2014;Servin et al, 2015;Singh et al, 2015;Sinha et al, 2017;Worrall et al, 2018). Among the nanomaterials, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been gained great attention compared to CuO, ZnO, etc. to reduce the fungal diseases, because of its low cost, eco-friendly nature, unique physicochemical properties, and high stability (Darbari et al, 2011;Huang et al, 2013). Despite the appealing features, TiO 2 revealed low antifungal efficiency in practical applications (Beltrán-Partida et al, 2017).…”

The Intervention of Nanotechnology Against Epithelial Fungal Diseases

“…The excellent visible light-induced photocatalytic antifungal activity of the TiO 2 Np/branched CNTs was attributed to the generation of (e − h + ) by visible light excitation with a low recombination rate, in addition to the high surface area provided for the interaction between cells and nanostructures. 102 As an example of an non photocatalytic use of TiO 2 , recently 250-300 nm TiO 2 AgNp combined nanoparticles (prepared by reaction between anatase TiO 2 Np with Ag at 50:1 molar ratio) showed significant antifungal activity (Table I), although the activity resulted comparable to that of 20-25 nm AgNp used as control. The LD50 on THP-1 monocytes of the TiO 2 AgNp was higher than that of AgNp.…”