title: Titanium dioxide photocatalytic inactivation of prions.
abstract: Prions are postulated to be the infectious agents of a family of transmissible, fatal, neurodegenerative disorders affecting both humans and animals. The possibility of prion transmission constitutes a public-health risk that confronts regulatory authorities everywhere. The main problem in handling prions is the fact that they are extremely resistant to standard decontamination methods. Thus, the use of harsh and expensive practices to destroy prions is inevitable. The development of applicable and efficient prion-inactivation practices is still highly important for the prevention of accidental transmission. In the search for effective and environmentally friendly methods to eliminate organic compounds and bacteria, much attention has been focused on the so-called advanced oxidation processes. These are based on the formation of hydroxyl radicals, which are known to possess a high reductive potential. This study tested the potential of titanium dioxide, an inexpensive and completely inert reagent, to inactivate prions in a heterogeneous photocatalytic process. Initial in vitro experiments were followed by a bioassay with the scrapie strain 263K in Syrian hamsters. The results obtained from this study indicate that titanium dioxide photocatalytic treatment of scrapie-infected brain homogenates reduces infectivity titres significantly.
authors.affiliation: Prion Disease Research Group, Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paspaltsis
authors.affiliation: Prion Disease Research Group, Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kotta
authors.affiliation: B' Neurological Clinic, AHEPA University Hospital, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Roza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lagoudaki
authors.affiliation: B' Neurological Clinic, AHEPA University Hospital, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Grigoriadis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Poulios
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas, Institute of Agrobiotechnology, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece.|Prion Disease Research Group, Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sklaviadis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D010777:Photochemistry; D018620:PrPSc Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014025:Titanium / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018620:PrPSc Proteins; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium