Antimicrobial and antifungal effects of tissue conditioners containing a photocatalyst.

This study examined the antimicrobial/antifungal ability of a tissue conditioner containing a photocatalyst for Escherichia coli, Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The photocatalyst was mixed with tissue conditioners powders at concentrations of 0, 10, 15, and 20 wt%. Tissue conditioners powders containing a photocatalyst were mixed with liquid to make test specimens. Test specimens inoculated by each microorganism were irradiated by ultraviolet light for 0-, 2- and 4 hours. The antimicrobial/antifungal effects were evaluated by the CFU technique. The CFU values of each microorganism for tissue conditioners containing a photocatalyst showed significant decrease following UV-irradiation. The improvement in antimicrobial/antifungal effects was concomitant with the increase of the mixing ratio and the irradiation time. Therefore, the results indicated that tissue conditioners containing a photocatalyst might have photocatalytic ability.