Antibacterial activity of kaolinite/nanoTiO2 composites in relation to irradiation time

• Composites kaolinite/nanoTiO2 (KATI) crystallite size approx. 17 nm were prepared.
• Analytical methods revealed TiO2 in anatase form in KATI composites.
• Antibacterial properties induced by daylight were observed due to photocatalysis.
• Antibacterial assays found the KATI samples to have antibacterial potency.
• KATI exhibited antibacterial properties to human pathogens.

The paper addresses laboratory preparation and antibacterial activity testing of kaolinite/nanoTiO2 composite in respect of the daylight irradiation time. Kaolinite/nanoTiO2 composites with 20 and 40 wt% of TiO2 were laboratory prepared, dried at 105 °C and calcined at 600 °C. The calcination caused transformation of kaolinite to metakaolinite and origination of the metakaolinite/nanoTiO2 composite. X-ray powder diffraction, Raman and FTIR spectroscopic methods revealed titanium dioxide only in the form of anatase in all evaluated samples (non-calcined and calcined) and also transformation of kaolinite to metakaolinite after the calcination treatment. Scanning electron microscopy was used as a method for characterization of morphology and elemental composition of the studied samples. A standard microdilution test was used to determine the antibacterial activity using four human pathogenic bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). A lamp with a wide spectrum bulb simulating daylight was used for induction of photocatalysis. The antibacterial assays found all the KATI samples to have antibacterial potency with different onset of the activity when calcined samples exhibited antibacterial activity earlier than the non-calcined. Significant difference in antibacterial activity of KATI samples for different bacterial strains was not observed.