Self-sterilizing and self-cleaning of silicone catheters coated with TiO2 photocatalyst thin films: A preclinical work

TiO2 photocatalysts were successfully coated on silicone catheters or medic al tubes by pretreatment of the silicone surface with a sulfuric acid solut ion (5 M) for 3 h, The TiO2 film adhered to the silicone substrate strongly against tensile and bending stresses. On the TiO2-coated silicone-catheter s under UV illumination, both the bleaching of methylene blue dye and the p hotocatalytic bactericidal effect on Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells were confirmed. Thus, this type of catheter can be sterilized and cleaned simply by irradiation with low-intensity UV light and ran, therefore, be useful i n the protection from catheter-related bacterial infections. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.