Real Time, in situ Observation of the Photocatalytic Destruction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cells by Palladium-modified Nitrogen-doped Titanium Oxide Thin Film

Abstract

Palladium-modified nitrogen-doped titanium oxide (TiON/PdO) thin film was synthesized by the ion-beam-assisted deposition technique, which enabled a heavy nitrogen doping and the subsequent light absorption extension to ∼700 nm for a better usage of the solar spectrum. Based on TiON/PdO thin film and a phase contrast microscope, a micro-reaction chamber was developed, which allowed the simultaneous optical excitation of the photocatalytic thin film and the phase contrast image observation of cells in it. The real time, in situ observation of the photocatalytic destruction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae), an essential eukaryotic unicellular model of living cells, was conducted with this new observation technique, which demonstrated clearly that the photocatalytic destruction effect was much stronger than the photodamage effect caused by the visible light irradiation alone in the disinfection process.