Evidence for Compression of Escherichia coli K12 Cells under the Effect of TiO2 Nanoparticles.

It has been shown that treatment with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) combined with near-ultraviolet (UV-A) irradiation or in certain dark conditions reduced the numbers of various microorganisms, but the mechanism of this effect remains unclear. In this study to further clarify the mechanism of the antibacterial effect of TiO2 NPs the physiological state of E. coli K12 cells was estimated after incubation with the NPs (0.2 g/L) for different periods of time, with or without UV-A irradiation. Cell incubation with TiO2 NPs, combined or not combined with UV-A irradiation, showed that inactive cells were located only within cell aggregates formed after incubation with TiO2 NPs and that the larger the aggregate, the greater the number of such cells. When the formation of large aggregates was prevented, exposure to NPs under UV-A irradiation failed to result in cell inactivation. A comparative analysis of fluorescence and optical microscopic images of the same aggregates showed that the location of inactivated cells coincided with the zone of increased optical density within the aggregate. After treatment with TiO2 NPs under UV-A for 30, 60, or 120 min cells within the aggregates were the first to be inactivated. Cells on which NPs irradiated more strongly (at the periphery of large aggregates and single) remained active for a longer time than cells within the aggregates. As the time of treatment increased, so did the degree of cell compaction, with some zones of the aggregates eventually transforming into an acellular mass. After UV-A irradiation the cell aggregates spontaneously moved toward each other and gradually fused into larger structures, indicating that such exposure enhanced mutual attraction of cells treated with the NPs. Present study provides evidence for hypothesis that bacterial cells covered with TiO2 NPs are inactivated due to their mutual attraction and consequent compression.

TiO2 nanoparticles suppress Escherichia coli cell division in the absence of UV irradiation in acidic conditions.

TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) activated by UV irradiation are known to have a bactericidal effect. In this study we report the details of TiO(2) NPs influence on the colony-forming capacity of E. coli in the dark at pH 4.0-4.5. At this pH the bacterial cells are negatively charged and TiO(2) NPs present a positive charge. A 60 min contact between E. coli with TiO(2) at concentrations of 0.02-0.2 mg/mL led to a reduction of E. coli cell number from 10(8) to 10(4)CFU/mL. After the reduction the system remains unchanged during the subsequent incubation. The observed reduction was a function on the initial E. coli concentration. In the presence of 0.04 mg/mL TiO(2) the colony-forming units (CFU) reduction after 60 min was of four-five orders of magnitude when the initial concentration was 10(8) cells/mL. But when starting with an E. coli concentration of 10(7) cells/mL the cell number reduction was less than one order of magnitude. Less than one order of magnitude cell number reduction was also observed for suspensions of E. coli 10(8) cells/mL and 0.002 mg/mL of TiO(2). The bacteria number reduction was always accompanied by the formation of cell aggregates. During cell incubation with TiO(2), the pH of the suspension increased, but did not reach the TiO(2) isoelectric point (IEP). E. coli cells stained with the fluorescent dye acridine orange (AO) showed that the fluorescence of single cells remained unchanged after incubation in the presence of TiO(2). The color change of fluorescence was revealed only in aggregated cells. This suggests changes in the physiologic state of E. coli incorporated into the aggregates. Aggregates of E. coli occur due to the electrostatic interaction between TiO(2) NPs and the bacterial cell surface. A hypothesis is suggested in this study to explain the CFU reduction and the retention of a certain irreducible number of cells capable of further division in the suspension in the presence of TiO(2) in the dark.