Biomaterials-based phototherapy for bacterial infections

Abstract

Bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance are global health problems, and current treatments for bacterial infections still rely on the use of antibiotics. Phototherapy based on the use of a photosensitizer has high efficiency, a broad spectrum, strong selectivity, does not easily induce drug resistance, and is expected to become an effective strategy for the treatment of bacterial infections, particularly drug-resistant infections. This article reviews antimicrobial strategies of phototherapy based on photosensitizers, including photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and their combination. These methods have significant application potential in combating multi-drug-resistant bacterial and biofilm infections, providing an alternative to traditional antibiotics and chemical antibacterial agents.

Keywords: antibacterial; photodynamic therapy; photoinitiator; phototherapy; photothermal therapy.

FIGURE 1

Antibacterial mechanism and effect of nanoconjugates (Pujari et al., 2024) (A) Schematic of bacterial eradication (B) ROS generation studies of DCFH-DA-mediated nanoconjugates (C) Nucleic acid release studies of nanoconjugates Data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 3 in each group). Statistical data are represented as mean ± SD (n = 3; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, and ****P < 0.0001; NS represents no significant difference). Copyright ^© 2024, American Chemical Society.

FIGURE 2

Antibacterial mechanism and effect of Cl-Hem (Atac et al., 2024) (A) Molecular structure of Cl-Hem (B) Dose-dependent antibacterial effect of Cl-Hem on plankcells of Staphylococcus epidermidis with/without laser irradiation (C) Fluorescence intensity of DGF-DA in Gram-positive cells treated with Cl-Hem (0 or 50 μg/mL) (D) Fluorescence intensity of DCF-DA in Cl-HEM-treated Gram-negative bacteria. Data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 3 in each group). Statistical data are represented as mean ± SD (n = 3; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, and ****P < 0.0001; NS represents no significant difference). Copyright ^© 2024 Elsevier B.V.

FIGURE 3

Antibacterial mechanism and effect of LM@AMP (Wang B. et al., 2024) (A) Schematic representation of photothermal LM@AMP nanoparticle preparation (B) Photothermal killing of bacteria (C) Photographs of AGAR plates subjected to various treatments (D) Quantitative data with various treatments Statistical data are represented as mean ± SD (n = 3).

FIGURE 4

Antibacterial mechanism and effect of N-GQDs (Geng et al., 2022) (A) Preparation steps of N-GQDs (B) Schematic diagram of its application in the photothermal eradication of MDR bacterial infection (C) Representative culture images of colonies treated with various concentrations of N-GQD aqueous solutions.

FIGURE 5

Antibacterial mechanism and effect of IND-Cy7 (Py)-TCF (Hao et al., 2024) (A) Schematic of the combined antimicrobial strategy (B) SEM images of bacteria treated with different concentrations of IND-Cy7 (Py)-TCF (C) Images of Escherichia coli AGAR plates treated with various concentrations of IND-Cy7 (Py)-TCF (D) Images of MRSA AGAR plates treated with different concentrations of IND-Cy7 (Py)-TCF. Copyright ^© 2024 Elsevier B.V.