Potentiating hypoxic microenvironment for antibiotic activation by photodynamic therapy to combat bacterial biofilm infections

Traditional antibiotic treatment has limited efficacy for the drug-tolerant bacteria present in biofilms because of their unique metabolic conditions in the biofilm infection microenvironment. Modulating the biofilm infection microenvironment may influence the metabolic state of the bacteria and provide alternative therapeutic routes. In this study, photodynamic therapy is used not only to eradicate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilms in the normoxic condition, but also to potentiate the hypoxic microenvironment, which induces the anaerobic metabolism of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and activates the antibacterial activity of metronidazole. Moreover, the photodynamic…

• GO
  Government of Jiangsu Province
• NS
  Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province

  Awards: BK20191382, 2017YFA0205302, BK20212012, BK20200710
• PA
  Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions

  Award: YX030004
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: 2017YFA0205302