An effective and potentially safe blood disinfection protocol using tetrapyrrolic photosensitizers.

Aim: Conventional disinfection techniques, considered safe for plasma, are usually associated with collateral damages on concentrated platelets and erythrocytes. Alternative methods are required and antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) seems promising. In this study the effectiveness of two photosensitizers (PS), a porphyrin and a phthalocyanine, to disinfect blood products was evaluated.

Overall biochemical changes in bacteria photosensitized with cationic porphyrins monitored by infrared spectroscopy.

Background: Photodynamic inactivation of micro-organisms is a promising nonantibiotic multitarget approach to treat localized and superficial infections through oxidative stress. Herein, the changes occurring on major cellular components of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus warneri, induced by photosensitization with cationic porphyrins (Tri-Py(+)-Me-PF and Tetra-Py(+)-Me) and white light, were monitored by infrared spectroscopy.

Results: In E.

An insight on bacterial cellular targets of photodynamic inactivation.

The emergence of microbial resistance is becoming a global problem in clinical and environmental areas. As such, the development of drugs with novel modes of action will be vital to meet the threats created by the rise in microbial resistance. Microbial photodynamic inactivation is receiving considerable attention for its potentialities as a new antimicrobial treatment.