11. Bactericidal Activity of Photocatalytic TiO2 Excited by Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound (LIPUS): An In Vitro Study.

Photocatalysis with anatase-type titanium dioxide (TiO2) under ultraviolet has a well-recognized bactericidal effect. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the photocatalytic bactericidal effects of TiO2 on Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC35984) caused by Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound (LIPUS) associated with bio-implant-related infections. The photocatalytic properties of the TiO2 films were confirmed by the degradation of an aqueous solution of methylene blue. The disks were seeded with cultured Staphylococcus epidermidis and irradiated by LIPUS. The bactericidal effect of the TiO2 films was evaluated by counting the surviving colonies. The viability of the bacteria on the photocatalytic TiO2 film coated titanium was suppressed significantly to 63% after 2 hours of LIPUS treatment (P < 0.05). The photocatalytic bactericidal effect of TiO2 under LIPUS is useful for sterilizing the contaminated and infected surfaces of metal bio-implants.