Inhibition of Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria by a Photoactivated Porphyrin

Abstract

The authors studied the in vitro antibacterial activity of the photo-activated porphyrin meso-tri(N-methyl-pyridyl), mono(N-tetradecyl-pyridyl)porphine (C14) against four multidrug-resistant bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis (Gram-positive), Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative). Using 10 μg/ml of porphyrin and 60 sec irradiation we observed the remarkable suscep­tibility of S. aureus and E. faecalis to treatment while, under the same conditions, E. coli and P. aeruginosa showed very low susceptibility.In a later stage, suspensions of Gram-negative bacteria were processed with EDTA before photo-activation, obtaining a significant decrease in viable counts. In view of the results, if the combination of low porphyrin concentrations and short irradiation times will be effectivein vivo also, this approach could be a possible alternative to antibiotics, in particular against localized infections due to multidrug-resistant microorganisms.

Keywords

• antibiotic-resistant bacteria
• laser light irradiation
• porphyrin
• photo-activation treatment