Abstract
Reactive oxygen species play important effects on organisms not onlyin vivobut alsoin vitro. The atomic oxygen radical anion (O-) has shown extremely high oxidation and reactivity towards small molecules of hydrocarbons. However, the O-effects on cells of microorganisms are scarcely investigated. This work showed the evidence that O-could react quickly with microorganisms (Escherichia coli,Bacillus subtilis,Staphylococcus aureus,Aspergillus niger,Saccharomyces cerevisiae, andActinomycetes(5046)) and damaged the cell walls seriously as well as their intrinsic structures, arising a fast and irreversible inactivation. SEM and TEM micrographs were used to reveal the structure changes of cells before and after reacting with O-radicals. The inactivation efficiencies of the microorganisms depended on the O-intensity, the initial population of microorganisms, the exposed area, the environment, and the microorganisms’ types. Over 99% reduction of an initial1.0×107colony-forming unit (cfu),E. colipopulation only required less than 2 minutes while exposed to a 0.23 μA/cm2O-flux under dry argon atmosphere (30°C, 1 atm). The observation of anionic intermediates (CO-, CO2-, H2O-, and anionic hydrocarbons) by time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry and the neutral volatile products (CO, CO2, and H2O) by quadrupole mass spectrometry (Q-MS) provided an evidence of the reactions of O-with hydrocarbon bonds of the microorganisms. The inactivation mechanism of microorganisms induced by O-was discussed.
Highlights
IntroductionReactive oxygen species (ROS), such as the superoxide anion graednic(a1Ol (2O),2-a)r,ethkeeyhycdhreomxyiclarlasdpiceaclie(sOiHn )t,haenbdiothcehesimngiclaetl oxyprocesses and exert a very important effect on organisms [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as the superoxide anion graednic(a1Ol (2O),2-a)r,ethkeeyhycdhreomxyiclarlasdpiceaclie(sOiHn )t,haenbdiothcehesimngiclaetl oxyprocesses and exert a very important effect on organisms [1,2,3,4,5,6].Organisms can suffer lipid peroxidation, protein denaturation, DNA injuries, and enzyme inactivation by ROS [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]
Our results demonstrate that O- can quickly react with the microorganisms, including Gram-positive bacteria (B. subtilis, S. aureus), Gram-negative bacteria
Summary
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as the superoxide anion graednic(a1Ol (2O),2-a)r,ethkeeyhycdhreomxyiclarlasdpiceaclie(sOiHn )t,haenbdiothcehesimngiclaetl oxyprocesses and exert a very important effect on organisms [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Our work showed that the O- could quickly react with the B. subtilis cells and seriously damage the cell walls as well as Journal of Nanomaterials their other contents, leading to a fast and irreversible inactivation [31]. We investigated the O- effects on the microorganisms’ inactivation (including the B. subtilis cells), the changes of cell structures caused by O-, and the products formed by the reaction of the microorganisms with O-. A. niger), and fungi (S. cerevisiae, Actinomycetes (5046)), and seriously damage the cell walls and their intrinsic structures, leading to a fast and irreversible inactivation. The observed intermediates and volatile products provided an important evidence of the reactions of O- with hydrocarbon bonds of the microorganisms
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
