Second project: Photo dynamic Therapy Against Pathogenic Microorganisms
Antimicrobial Photodynamic therapy (aPDT) employs the combination of a photo absorber (dye) with a source of visible light of a specific wavelength for the control of microorganisms. The aPDT demonstrates efficacy against bacteria and fungi and displays a number of other favorable characteristics, such as the non-association between its use and selection of resistant bacteria. Thereby, aPDT has been considered a promising alternative to the conventional therapeutic approach for the control of different infectious diseases. Considering the importance of the spread of bacterial resistance to conventional antimicrobial drugs, the search for natural dyes, like curcumin, with cytotoxic activity against clinically relevant microorganisms, as an alternative to synthetic, already widely used, has been increasingly intense.
The study that I participated was conducted in order to evaluate the activity of curcumin against the species Lactobacillus acidophilus, important agent of dental caries, Propionibacterium acnes, associated with various infections, in particular acne vulgaris, and Staphylococcus epidermidis associated with the pathogenesis of opportunistic infections, especially surgical wound and bloodstream.
Intermediary results suggest that the treatment used was able to completely eliminate L. acidophilus, P. acnes, and S. epidermides. The next step of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of aPDT in lower treatment times, in order to better characterize the antibacterial activity of curcumin.
