Thesis Title: Investigation of the effect of quartz sand and nanoparticles on bacteria
Thursday 11 October 2018, at:14:00, Venue: Hall Κ2. Α3
Examination Committee
- Professor Constantinos Chrysikopoylos (advisor)
- Professor George Karatzas
- Assistant Professor Danae Venieri
Abstract:
One of the most important problems of this era is the reduction of the quantity and the degradation of the quality of various environmental resources. This makes it necessary to investigate the mechanisms governing the fate and transfer of pollutants in porous media. Bacteria and nanoparticles are two pollutants of different origins, the combination of which has attracted the interest of various scientific disciplines. Bacteria that are tested and can enter the environment through urban waste disposal are Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus. Correspondingly, the effect of nanoparticles studied is that of graphine oxide (GO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2). These nanoparticles occur in various applications through which they enter the environment in which bacteria coexist. The selection of these nanoparticles for study is based on the antimicrobial properties that characterize them. For this reason, dynamic experiments in conditions of actual environmental problems, examine the effect on bacteria of absence and presence of quartz sand is examined. Although the results of the experiments confirmed the antibacterial properties of both nanoparticles, titanium dioxide (TiO2) showed the highest toxicity in bacteria. As to the role of sand, it was found that its presence contributed to increased bacterial inactivation.
