Tianhong Dai
Harvard Medical School, USA
Title: Antimicrobial blue light inactivation of pathogenic microbes: State of the art
Biography
Biography: Tianhong Dai
Abstract
As an innovative non-antibiotic approach, antimicrobial blue light in the spectrum of 400-470 nm has demonstrated its intrinsic antimicrobial properties resulting from the presence of endogenous photosensitizing chromophores in pathogenic microbes and subsequently, its promise as a counteracter of antibiotic resistance. Since we published our last review of antimicrobial blue light in 2012, there have been a substantial number of new studies reported in this area. Here we provide an updated overview of the fi ndings from the new studies over the past fi ve years, including the effi cacy of antimicrobial blue light inactivation of diff erent microbes, its mechanism of action, synergism of antimicrobial blue light with other antimicrobials, its eff ect on host cells and tissues, the potential development of resistance to antimicrobial blue light by microbes and a novel interstitial delivery approach of antimicrobial blue light. Th e potential new applications of antimicrobial blue light will also be discussed.