Bactericidal activities of woven cotton and nonwoven polypropylene fabrics coated with hydroxyapatite-binding silver/titanium dioxide ceramic nanocomposite "Earth-plus"

Abstract

Eriko Kasuga1,2, Yoshiyuki Kawakami2,3, Takehisa Matsumoto1, Eiko Hidaka1, Kozue Oana2, Naoko Ogiwara1, Dai Yamaki4, Tsukasa Sakurada4, Takayuki Honda1,51Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shinshu University Hospital, 2Division of Infection Control and Microbiological Regulation, Department of Health and Medical Sciences, Shinshu University Graduate School of Medicine, 3Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 4Shinshu Ceramics Co Ltd, Kiso, Nagano, Japan; 5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, JapanBackground: Bacteria from the hospital environment, including linens and curtains, are often responsible for hospital-associated infections. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the bactericidal effects of fabrics coated with the hydroxyapatite-binding silver/titanium dioxide ceramic nanocomposite "Earth-plus".Methods: Bactericidal activities of woven and nonwoven fabrics coated with Earth-plus were investigated by the time-kill curve method using nine bacterial strains, including three Staphylococcus aureus, three Escherichia coli, and three Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains.Results: The numbers of viable S. aureus and E. coli cells on both fabrics coated with Earth-plus decreased to below 2 log10 colony-forming units/mL in six hours and reached the detection limit in 18 hours. Viable cell counts of P. aeruginosa on both fabrics coated with Earth-plus could not be detected after 3–6 hours. Viable cells on woven fabrics showed a more rapid decline than those on nonwoven fabrics. Bacterial cell counts of the nine strains on fabrics without Earth-plus failed to decrease even after 18 hours.Conclusion: Woven cotton and nonwoven polypropylene fabrics were shown to have excellent antibacterial potential. The woven fabric was more bactericidal than the nonwoven fabric.Keywords: hydroxyapatite, silver, TiO2, Earth-plus, ceramic, bactericidal, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa