Interaction of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with influenza virus

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) in a suspension or absorbed on a film possesses bactericidal and virucidal properties caused by photocatalytic reactions. Our electron microscopic examinations showed that titanium dioxide nanoparticles destroyed the influenza virus after 30 min incubation. Virological studies revealed the inactivation of the influenza virus by TiO2, depending on the concentration of nanoparticles and the incubation period. The inactivation effect was observed when the incubation was performed in darkness, unlike the TiO2 suspension. We propose that the virus-inactivation properties of TiO2 are mainly based on the direct contact between nanoparticles and virus particles.