Schafer Mark E, McNeely Tessie
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Photosonix Medical, Inc., Fort Washington, PA 19034, USA.
Microorganisms. 2021 Apr 26;9(5):929. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9050929.
Bacterial biofilms are highly resistant to antibiotics and have been implicated in the etiology of 60%-80% of chronic microbial infections. We tested a novel combination of low intensity ultrasound and blue light against biofilm and planktonic bacteria. A laboratory prototype was built which produced both energies uniformly and coincidently from a single treatment head, impinging upon a 4.45 cm target. To demonstrate proof of concept, biofilms were cultured on Millicell hanging inserts in 6-well plates. Hanging inserts with biofilms were treated in a custom exposure chamber designed to minimize unwanted ultrasound reflections. Coincident delivery of both energies demonstrated synergy over either alone, killing both stationary planktonic and biofilm cultures of . Reduction in biofilm bacteria was dose dependent on exposure time (i.e., energy delivered). biofilms were significantly reduced by dual energy treatment ( < 0.0001), with a >1 log reduction after a 5 min (9 J/cm) and >3 log reduction after a 30 min (54 J/cm) treatment ( < 0.05). Mammalian cells were found to be unaffected by the treatment. Both the light and the ultrasound energies are at levels previously cleared by the FDA. Therefore, this combination treatment could be used as a safe, efficacious method to treat biofilm related syndromes.
细菌生物膜对抗生素具有高度抗性，并且与60%-80%的慢性微生物感染的病因有关。我们测试了低强度超声和蓝光针对生物膜细菌和浮游细菌的一种新型联合疗法。构建了一个实验室原型，其能从单个治疗头均匀且同时产生两种能量，作用于一个4.45厘米的靶标。为了证明概念验证，在6孔板的Millicell悬挂插入物上培养生物膜。带有生物膜的悬挂插入物在一个定制的暴露室中进行处理，该暴露室旨在尽量减少不必要的超声反射。两种能量的同时递送显示出比单独使用任一种能量都具有协同作用，能杀死静止的浮游细菌培养物和生物膜培养物。生物膜细菌的减少与暴露时间（即递送的能量）呈剂量依赖性。双能量处理使生物膜显著减少（<0.0001），5分钟（9焦耳/平方厘米）处理后减少超过1个对数，30分钟（54焦耳/平方厘米）处理后减少超过3个对数（<0.05）。发现哺乳动物细胞不受该处理的影响。光和超声能量均处于先前已获美国食品药品监督管理局批准的水平。因此，这种联合治疗可作为一种安全、有效的方法来治疗与生物膜相关的综合征。
