Selenium Nanoparticles Inhibit Various Bacterial Growth on Paper Towels
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Selenium Nanoparticles Inhibit Various Bacterial Growth on Paper Towels Qi Wang1, Thomas J. Webster1,2 1 Bioengineering Program, 2Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Bacterial infections are commonly found on paper towels and other paper products leading to the potential spread of bacteria and consequent health concerns. The objective of this in vitro study was to introduce antibacterial properties to paper towel surfaces by coating them with selenium nanoparticles. Results showed that the selenium nanoparticle coated paper towels inhibited the growth of S. Aureus and P. aeruginosa by 80%~90% after 72 hours compared with the uncoated paper towels. Thus, the study showed that nano-selenium coated paper towels may lead to an increased eradication of bacteria to more effectively clean a wide-range of clinical environments, thus, improving health. INTRODUCTION Hand washing has been identified as the most significant manner towards preventing the spread of microbial infections in the hospital environment,1 and hand drying is considered as the critical last stage of the hand washing process. In some circumstances, such as for paper towels hanging in sink splash zones or those used to clean surfaces, they have been considered as potential sources of bacterial contamination.2 Various nanomaterials have been developed and studied for their potential anti-bacterial applications due to their vastly increased ratio of surface area to volume, which allows for potentially increased interactions between nanomaterials and biological targets, such as mammalian cells and bacteria.3 As a result, nanomaterials will likely exert a stronger interaction with bacteria which may affect their growth and propagation. However, there are always concerns of toxicity when nanomaterials are used for biomedical applications. Different from plenty of nano-sized metal-based antibacterial materials, such as zinc oxide nanoparticles,4 silver nanoparticles,5-7 copper and its alloys,8-9 that may cause potential toxicity to mammalian cells,10-12 selenium is a naturally occurring micronutrient, which is fundamental for 25 selenoproteins or enzymes in the human body with selenocysteine at their active center.13 Therefore, in this study, selenium nanoparticles were coated on normal paper towel surfaces through a quick precipitation method. In addition, their effectiveness at preventing biofilm formation was tested in bacterial assays involving Staphyloccocus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results showed that the selenium coatings successfully introduced antibacterial properties to standard paper towels, revealing a promising selenium-based method to prevent bacterial infections on paper products.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Paper towels (Tork Advanced, MB550A Hand Towel, cut into round chips, 7.01mm in diameter) were coated with selenium nanoparticles through a simple and quick precipitation reaction. The reaction involves glutathione (reduced form, GSH) (97%, TCI America,
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