Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most urgent healthcare challenges. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has shown promise in combating this growing threat. In aPDT, photoactivation of a sensitizer leads to the generation of reactive oxygen species, which induces bacterial cell death by damaging vital biomolecules. Ruthenium polypyridyl complexes possess rich photophysical properties and have been shown to generate singlet oxygen species upon light activation. Herein, we report antibacterial photodynamic properties of ruthenium (II) polypyridyl complex, [RuCl(MePhtpy)(dpp)]+ (where, MePhtpy = 4′-(4-methylphenyl)-2,2′:6′,2′'-terpyridine and dpp = 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine). The complex displays antibacterial properties in the absence of light, which are further enhanced upon photoirradiation. Agarose gel electrophoresis studies on DNA extracted from treated bacterial cells revealed that binding to DNA is not responsible for these antimicrobial photodynamic properties and that further studies are needed to identify the target biomolecule(s) of [RuCl(MePhtpy)(dpp)](PF6).
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call