INTRODUCTION Staphylococcus epidermidis, a human skin commensal, is the most frequent isolate from infections of medical indwelling devices. This fact reflects the ubiquitous nature of S. epidermidis on the skin and the risk of contamination of a medical device before or during insertion1. A counteraction strategy is to develop coatings of medical devices to reduce […]

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the potential of NADES as a solvent for the hydrophobic photosensitizer curcumin for use in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT).

Curcumin is currently under investigation as a potential photosensitiser in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT). Previous studies have demonstrated high phototoxicity towards Gram-positive (G+) bacteria, but lower effect on Gram-negative (G-) bacteria.

The increased occurrence of antibiotic resistance in general necessitates development of alternative antimicrobial drugs or methods. Further, certain cases of periodontitis respond poorly to conventional treatment. The principle of photodynamic therapy, currently used against certain cancers, may be a practical treatment modality for oral infections, presumably with low possibility for development of resistance. The treatment requires the presence of light-absorbing molecules (photosensitizer; PS) and irradiation with a light source emission that spectrally matches the light-absorption of the PS.

Curcumin is under investigation as a potential photosensitizer (PS) in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT). The therapeutic potential of curcumin as a PS is limited by its low aqueous solubility, susceptibility to hydrolytic and photolytic degradation, and limited phototoxicity toward Gram negative (G-) bacteria.