They exposed the bacteria to many cycles of light exposure and then compared the minimum concentration of antibiotics needed to kill the bacteria after light exposure versus those that did not get light exposure.
Dr Vladislav Yakovlev, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, added: "The result reinforces the potential of photodynamic inactivation (PDI) as a valuable adjuvant therapy, offering a promising avenue for mitigating bacterial resistance and promoting more effective treatment strategies against resistant infections.".
Vanderlei Bagnato, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and senior author on the study, said: “When bacteria start becoming resistant to conventional antibiotics, we have what we call an antibiotic catastrophe.
To overcome this challenge, we need alternative ways to either kill the superbugs or find a novel way to modify natural processes within the bacteria so that antibiotics start to act again.”.
Virus experts say sprinkle of 17p spice could kill off 'superbugs' Before antibiotics, infectious diseases were among the world's biggest killers.
