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Rejuvenated Photodynamic Therapy for Bacterial Infections
Author(s) -
Jia Qingyan,
Song Qing,
Li Peng,
Huang Wei
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced healthcare materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.288
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2192-2659
pISSN - 2192-2640
DOI - 10.1002/adhm.201900608
Subject(s) - photodynamic therapy , biofilm , bacteria , biology , antimicrobial , in vivo , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , genetics , organic chemistry
The emergence of multidrug resistant bacterial strains has hastened the exploration of advanced microbicides and antibacterial techniques. Photodynamic antibacterial therapy (PDAT), an old‐fashioned technique, has been rejuvenated to combat “superbugs” and biofilm‐associated infections owing to its excellent characteristics of noninvasiveness and broad antibacterial spectrum. More importantly, bacteria are less likely to produce drug resistance to PDAT because it does not require specific targeting interaction between photosensitizers (PSs) and bacteria. This review mainly focuses on recent developments and future prospects of PDAT. The mechanisms of PDAT against bacteria and biofilms are briefly introduced. In addition to classical macrocyclic PSs, several innovative PSs, including non‐self‐quenching PSs, conjugated polymer–based PSs, and nano‐PSs, are summarized in detail. Numerous multifunctional PDAT systems such as in situ light‐activated PDAT, stimuli‐responsive PDAT, oxygen self‐enriching enhanced PDAT, and PDAT‐based multimodal therapy are highlighted to overcome the inherent defects of PDAT in vivo (e.g., limited penetration depth of light and hypoxic environment of infectious sites).