Effect of non-homogenous thermal stress during sub-lethal photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy

Pathogens could be inactivated via a light source coupled with a photosensitizing agent in photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT). This project studied the effect of non-homogenous substrate on cell colony. The non-homogeneity could be controlled by iron oxide nano-particles doping in porous glassy substrates such that each cell would experience tens of hot spots when illuminated with additional light source. The substrate non-homogeneity was characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Extended X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure at Brookhaven Synchrotron Light Source. Microscopy images of cell motion were used to study the motility. Laboratory cell colonies on non-homogenous substrates exhibit reduced motility similar to those observed with sub-lethal PCAT treatment. Such motility reduction on non-homogenous substrate is interpreted as the presence of thermal stress. The studied pathogens included E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Non-pathogenic microbes Bacillus subtilis was also studied for comparison. The results show that sub-lethal PACT could be effective with additional non-homogenous thermal stress. The use of non-uniform illumination on a homogeneous substrate to create thermal stress in sub-micron length scale is discussed via light correlation in propagation through random medium. Extension to sub-lethal PACT application complemented with thermal stress would be an appropriate application.