01.05.2014 | Original Article
Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) inhibits biofilm formation by Candida albicans, increasing both ROS production and membrane permeability
Erschienen in: Lasers in Medical Science | Ausgabe 3/2014
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The opportunistic fungal Candida albicans is able to produce both superficial and systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) is a process that combines visible light and a photosensitizer, producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can kill the treated cells and has been presented as a potential antimicrobial therapy. In this work, we study the effects of PACT, using toluidine blue (TB) as a photosensitizer drug, on ROS production and cell damage and the ability of C. albicans to form biofilm. A significant decrease was observed in the cell growth after PACT in a TB concentration-dependent manner. This effect was dependent on the incubation time after PACT. In addition, an increase in both the ROS production and cell permeability, after PACT, in a TB concentration-dependent manner was observed. PACT, using 0.1 mg/ml TB was able to reduce biofilm formation in 30, 50, and 62 %, in cells submitted to incubation times of 1, 2, and 3 h, respectively. These results suggested that PACT, using TB, is able to decrease both growth and biofilm formation by C. albicans, possibly by a mechanism evolving both ROS production and the increase in the cell permeability.
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