Cedillo-González Erika Iveth, Chierici Paolo, Buttazzo Marta, Siligardi Cristina, Blasi Elisabetta, Ardizzoni Andrea
Department of Engineering "Enzo Ferrari", University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via P. Vivarelli 10/1, Modena 41125, Italy.
National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Via G. Giusti 9, Florence 50121, Italy.
Mater Today Commun. 2023 Mar;34:105191. doi: 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.105191. Epub 2022 Dec 17.
Keeping surfaces clean can reduce the spread of infections. In particular, to decrease the potential for SARS CoV-2 contamination, performing disinfection of high-touching surfaces. Several ceramic tiles and porcelain stoneware tiles with antimicrobial properties are already available on the market. However, the widespread use of antimicrobial glazed stoneware tiles may require to replace the ceramic surfaces already present in many buildings. The unfeasibility of such replacement can be due to both product durability (lifetime of a tile is usually long) and/or monetary restrictions. Furthermore, as porcelain stoneware does not have antimicrobial activity, these materials are fabricated by adding chemical agents able to provide antimicrobial properties. This approach requires a compatibility between the antimicrobial agents and the glaze formulation, as well as a careful control of the firing cycle and the final properties of the ceramic products. It follows that the final cost of antimicrobial tiles is not competitive with that of conventional tiles. In the latter, the persistence of potential pathogens on the surfaces is a crucial problem to face: the longer a pathogen survives on a surface, the longer it may be a source of transmission and thus endanger susceptible subjects. In this work, bacteria's capacity to adhere and to be effectively removed from two conventional glazed porcelain stoneware tiles (under dirty and clean conditions) was investigated. Two different glazes were tested, one mainly glassy (glossy) and the other mainly crystalline (matt). The sanitization procedures were carried out by chemical and chemo-mechanical procedures. The results showed that chemo-mechanical sanitization was the most effective, and the best results could be obtained on the stoneware tiles coated with the mainly glassy glaze, with the lowest porosity and the lower roughness values and water contact angles, especially under clean conditions.
保持表面清洁可减少感染传播。特别是，为降低新型冠状病毒污染的可能性，应对高接触表面进行消毒。市场上已有几种具有抗菌性能的瓷砖和炻瓷砖。然而，广泛使用抗菌炻瓷砖可能需要更换许多建筑物中现有的陶瓷表面。这种更换不可行的原因可能是产品耐久性（瓷砖的使用寿命通常很长）和/或资金限制。此外，由于炻没有抗菌活性，这些材料是通过添加能够提供抗菌性能的化学试剂制成的。这种方法要求抗菌剂与釉料配方之间具有兼容性，以及仔细控制烧制周期和陶瓷产品的最终性能。因此，抗菌瓷砖的最终成本与传统瓷砖相比缺乏竞争力。在传统瓷砖中，表面潜在病原体的持久性是一个关键问题：病原体在表面存活的时间越长，它作为传播源的时间就越长，从而危及易感人群。在这项工作中，研究了细菌在两种传统釉面炻瓷砖上（在脏污和清洁条件下）的附着能力以及有效去除能力。测试了两种不同的釉料，一种主要是玻璃质的（有光泽），另一种主要是结晶质的（哑光）。通过化学和化学机械方法进行消毒程序。结果表明，化学机械消毒最为有效，在涂有主要为玻璃质釉料的炻瓷砖上可获得最佳效果，其孔隙率最低、粗糙度值和水接触角较小，尤其是在清洁条件下。
