Abstract
Nanotechnology contributes towards a more effective eradication of pathogens that have emerged in hospitals, veterinary clinics, and food processing plants and that are resistant to traditional drugs or disinfectants. Since new methods of pathogens eradication must be invented and implemented, nanotechnology seems to have become the response to that acute need. A remarkable achievement in this field of science was the creation of self-disinfecting surfaces that base on advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Thus, the phenomenon of photocatalysis was practically applied. Among the AOPs that have been most studied in respect of their ability to eradicate viruses, prions, bacteria, yeasts, and molds, there are the processes of TiO2/UV and ZnO/UV. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) act as photocatalysts, after they have been powdered to nanoparticles. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an agent that determines their excitation. Methods using photocatalytic properties of nanosized TiO2 and ZnO prove to be highly efficient in inactivation of infectious agents. Therefore, they are being applied on a growing scale. AOP-based disinfection is regarded as a very promising tool that might help overcome problems in food hygiene and public health protection. The susceptibility of infectious agents to photocatalylic processes can be generally arranged in the following order: viruses > prions > Gram-negative bacteria > Gram-positive bacteria > yeasts > molds.
Highlights
Some metal oxides powdered to nanoparticles (NPs) (1 < φ ≤ 100 nm) have been attracting much interest among scientists representing various fields of science
Viruses Inactivation There are studies proving that the TiO2/UV process where titanium dioxide (TiO2), after it has been powdered to nanoparticles, performs as photocatalyst, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an agent generating reactive oxygen species, is an effective tool in the eradication of many viruses from a number of taxonomy groups [44, 45]
Nanotechnology may largely contribute towards the fight against many pathogens, it may be successfully applied in such areas as food hygiene or public health protection
Summary
Some metal oxides powdered to nanoparticles (NPs) (1 < φ ≤ 100 nm) have been attracting much interest among scientists representing various fields of science. The photocatalytic properties of semiconductors, to which nanosized metal oxides, such as TiO2 and ZnO, belong, result from their specific energetic structure. Their lowenergy valence band (VB) is filled with electrons, and their high-energy conduction band (CB) is electron free. In case of three polymorphic TiO2 forms, i.e., brookite, rutile, and anatase, as well as for ZnO, the width of the energy gap amounts to 2.96, 3.02, 3.20, and 3.37 eV, respectively It is the equivalent of the electromagnetic radiation photon energy with a wavelength of λ < 400 nm. TiO2 and ZnO are applied, after powdering to NPs, in AOPs- and UV-radiation-based methods of pathogens inactivation and organic pollutants decomposition [43].
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