Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) has been featured as an effective strategy in the treatment of acute drug-resistant infections. The efficiency of PDI was evaluated against three periodontal pathogenic bacteria that were tested as drug-resistant strains. In vitro studies were performed with four water-soluble cationic Zn(II) phthalocyanines (ZnPc1-4) and irradiation of a specific light source (light-emitting diode, 665 nm) with three doses (15, 36 and 60 J/cm2). The well detectable fluorescence of ZnPcs allowed the cellular imaging, which suggested relatively high uptakes of ZnPcs into bacterial species. Complete photoinactivation was achieved with all studied ZnPc1-4 for Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) at a light dose of 15 J/cm2. The photodynamic response was high for Prevotella intermedia (P. intermedia) after the application of 6 μM of ZnPc1 and a light dose of 36 J/cm2 and for 6 μM of ZnPc2 at 60 J/cm2. P. intermedia was inactivated with ZnPc3 (4 log) and ZnPc4 (2 log) with irradiation at an optimal dose of 60 J/cm2. Similar photoinactivation results (2 log) were achieved for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) treated with 6 μM ZnPc1 and ZnPc2 at a light dose of 60 J/cm2. The study suggested that PDI with quaternized Zn(II) phthalocyanines and specific light irradiation appears to be a very useful antimicrobial strategy for effective inactivation of drug-resistant periodontal pathogens.
Keywords: confocal fluorescence; drug-resistant bacteria; photodynamic inactivation; quaternized Zn(II) phthalocyanines.