PHOTODYNAMIC INACTIVATION INDUCED BY CARBOXYPTERIN: A NOVEL NON-TOXIC BACTERICIDAL STRATEGY AGAINST Staphylococcus aureus PLANKTONIC CELLS AND BIOFILMS

ALEJANDRO MIÑÁN; CAROLINA LORENTE; ADRIANA IPIÑA; ANDRÉS H. THOMAS; MÓNICA FERNÁNDEZ LORENZO DE MELE ; PATRICIA L. SCHILARDI

BIOFOULING

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2015 vol. 31 p. 459 - 468

0892-7014

Microbial related contamination is a matter of concern in different areas causing huge economic losses. Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) has emerged as a suitable approach to inhibit microorganism proliferation. In this work, PDI induced by 6-carboxypterin (Cap), a biocompatible photosensitizer (PS) was analyzed. The growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) exposed to artificial UV-A radiation and sunlight in the presence of Cap was investigated. After UV-A irradiation, 50 µM Cap was able to decrease by 3 orders (with respect to the initial value) the number of S. aureus in early biofilms. However, this concentration was 500 times higher than that needed for eradicating planktonic cells. Importantly, under solar exposure, 100 µM Cap was able to suppress sessile bacterial growth. Thus, this strategy is able to have a bactericidal effect on sessile bacteria and to eradicate planktonic cells by exposing the Cap-containing sample to sunlight.