A study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection examined the efficacy of titanium dioxide coating in reducing the microbial colonization of environmental surfaces in an intensive care unit.
Researchers conducted a prospective, controlled, single-center pilot study examining surfaces that were cultured with agar contact plates before applying the titanium dioxide coating to environmental services as well as after.
The study shows that mean ratio for the total number of colony-forming units in an ICU room between the pre-and post-titanium dioxide coating periods was 0.86. Additionally, the effect of the intervention on the number of colony-forming units from all culture plates in the fourth week between the pre- and post-titanium dioxide coating periods was -0.47.
"Titanium dioxide coating had no effect on the microbial colonization of surfaces in an ICU," study authors concluded.