Evaluación del potencial antibacterial del composito TiO₂/AgNO₃ en Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) y Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 2275).

Currently, water resources pollution is a worldwide problem generated by anthropogenic factors. It can be a result of inorganic factors such as heavy metals, or organic such as microorganisms, which use water as a means of transmission and may generate several health problems in different living organisms. Titanium oxide (TiO2) is commonly used for treating wastewater, since it provides control in inorganic and organic factors due to its photocatalytic effect. In this research, the antibacterial effect of TiO2/AgNO3 composite against Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 2275) was evaluated. The material was synthesized by sol gel method, several concentrations of TiO2 and AgNO3 (1, 5 and 10 %wt) were used. In order to enhance the photocatalytic effect of TiO2, the material was irradiated at 312 nm (30, 45 and 60 minutes) before the antibacterial test was carried out. The bacterial tests were made by microdilution in plate, incubating the bacteria with material for 24 h before making the inhibition measurements. These results show that the anatase phase was obtained with a particle size <100 nm, and TiO2/AgNO3 composites irradiated for 60 minutes possessed the best photocatalytic performance.