Possible mechanisms of the destruction of spores of the vaccine strain Bacillus anthracis STI-1 under the influence of alcohol sols of metal nanoparticles

The results are presented of a comparative study of the sporicidal activity of alcohol sols of nanoparticles of titanium, copper, zinc and tantalum metals in the course of their interaction with a rehydrated lyophilized culture of spores of the vaccine strain Bacillus anthracis STI-1 with the loss of the ability of spores to germinate in nutrient media under optimal conditions using bacteriology and electronic microscopy. The most pronounced sporicidal effect is observed when titanium alcohol sol is exposed to spores. At the same time, spores of B. anthracis STI-1 in titanium alcohol sol are affected by ethyl alcohol, which causes dehydration and denaturation of the protein, the antiseptic cetylpyridinium chloride as a surfactant, which is also a strong electrophilic agent that destroys the exosporium and spore shells, and titanium nanoparticles, which, due to the high surface energy when exposed to spores, cause their pronounced massive adhesion. In addition, titanium nanoparticles, the zeta (? -) value of the potential of which is -44.5 mV, cause a stable energy state of the dispersed system of alcohol sol, which acts as a biocatalyst for intracellular enzymes, causing the hydrolysis of polymer structures of the spore shells and cortex, as well as destroyed nucleoid – an area of spores containing structured genetic material. Spores that do not have a nucleoid in electron microscopy acquire the form of "shadows". As a result of the action of titanium alcohol sol, the activation of germination and the formation of the so-called "metabolic" spores, from which the vegetative cells of B. anthracis STI-1 should have been formed, are prevented. The reason for the high sporicidal efficiency of the alcohol sol of titanium nanoparticles is associated both with the structure and properties and with the technology of synthesis of titanium nanoparticles in the low-temperature plasma zone with the formation, due to the excess of the surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride, of a two-layer shell around the metal nanoparticles, which leads to their "conservation" until the moment of contact with spores and a sharp slowdown in their oxidation in the aquatic environment. The destruction of the formed two-layer shell of metal nanoparticles begins with contact with spores with the simultaneous onset of the formation of titanium ions from the phase of nanoparticles, which actively destroy chemically the shells of the spores. Keywords: microorganisms, Bacillus anthracis STI-1, spores, metal nanoparticles, zeta potential, disinfectant compositions, sporicidal activity.