title: Porphyrin-cellulose nanocrystals: a photobactericidal material that exhibits broad spectrum antimicrobial activity.
abstract: Towards our overall objectives of developing potent antimicrobial materials to combat the escalating threat to human health posed by the transmission of surface-adhering pathogenic bacteria, we have investigated the photobactericidal activity of cellulose nanocrystals that have been modified with a porphyrin-derived photosensitizer (PS). The ability of these previously synthesized porphyrin-cellulose-nanocrystals (CNC-Por (1)) to mediate bacterial photodynamic inactivation was investigated as a function of bacterial strain, incubation time and illumination time. Despite forming an insoluble suspension, CNC-Por (1) showed excellent efficacy toward the photodynamic inactivation of Acinetobacter baumannii, multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), with the best results achieving 5-6 log units reduction in colony forming units (CFUs) upon illumination with visible light (400-700 nm; 118 J cm(-2)). CNC-Por (1) mediated the inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, although at reduced activity (2-3 log units reduction). Confocal laser scanning microscopy of CNC-Por (1) after incubation with A. baumannii or S. aureus suggested a lack of internalization of the PS. Research into alternative materials such as CNC-Por (1) may lead to their application in hospitals and healthcare-related industries wherein novel materials with the capability of reducing the rates of transmission of a wide range of bacteria, particularly antibiotic resistant strains, are desired.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Feese
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sadeghifar
authors.forename: Dimitris S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Argyropoulos
authors.forename: Reza A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ghiladi
mesh_terms: D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000187:drug effects; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D053758:Nanoparticles; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000737:chemistry*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D011166:Porphyrins; D002482:Cellulose