Light as a Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial

Antimicrobial resistance is a significant and growing concern. To continue to treat even simple infections, there is a pressing need for new alternative and complementary approaches to antimicrobial therapy. One possible addition to the current range of treatments is the use of narrow-wavelength lig...

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Published inFrontiers in microbiology Vol. 9; p. 119
Main Authors Gwynne, Peter J, Gallagher, Maurice P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 02.02.2018
Subjects
antimicrobials
blue light
infection
Microbiology
photosensitizers
phototherapy
resistance
infection
ultraviolet
blue light
infrared
phototherapy
antimicrobials
photosensitizers
resistance
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Summary:Antimicrobial resistance is a significant and growing concern. To continue to treat even simple infections, there is a pressing need for new alternative and complementary approaches to antimicrobial therapy. One possible addition to the current range of treatments is the use of narrow-wavelength light as an antimicrobial, which has been shown to eliminate a range of common pathogens. Much progress has already been made with blue light but the potential of other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum is largely unexplored. In order that the approach can be fully and most effectively realized, further research is also required into the effects of energy dose, the harmful and beneficial impacts of light on eukaryotic tissues, and the role of oxygen in eliciting microbial toxicity. These and other topics are discussed within this perspective.
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Edited by: Joshua D. Nosanchuk, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, United States
Reviewed by: Ludmila Baltazar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil; Sabine Szunerits, Lille University of Science and Technology, France
This article was submitted to Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy, a section of the journal Frontiers in Microbiology
ISSN:1664-302X
1664-302X
DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2018.00119