Abstract
The threat of emerging pathogens and microbial drug resistance has spurred tremendous efforts to develop new and more effective antimicrobial strategies. Recently, a novel ultrashort pulsed (USP) laser technology has been developed that enables efficient and chemical-free inactivation of a wide spectrum of viral and bacterial pathogens. Such a technology circumvents the need to introduce potentially toxic chemicals and could permit safe and environmentally friendly pathogen reduction, with a multitude of possible applications including the sterilization of pharmaceuticals and blood products, and the generation of attenuated or inactivated vaccines.
Highlights
Review Despite the myriad antimicrobial methods that have been developed to combat infectious disease, microbial pathogens continue to evolve and acquire resistance
Ultrashort pulsed (USP) laser treatment has been shown to inactivate a variety of viruses including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Influenza virus, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Murine Noroviruses, Hepatitis A Virus (HAV), Encephalomyocarditis Virus (EMCV), Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) and M13 bacteriophage, as well as bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella spp, and Listeria [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
The intriguing feature worthwhile mentioning is that there exists a Microorganism Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Influenza Virus Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) Murine norovirus (MNV) Hepatitis A virus (HAV) Human Papillomavirus (HPV) M13 bacteriophage Escherichia coli Salmonella typhi Listeria monocytogenes Enterobacter Sakazakii
Summary
The emergence of drug-resistant microbes and new, heretofore-unknown pathogens has renewed the search for effective antimicrobial technologies. The recently developed USP laser technique for microbial load reduction could represent a universal, non-invasive, and environmentally friendly method for selective inactivation of microbes without the use of clinically toxic or environmentally damaging agents. Authors’ contributions SWDT proposed the idea of pathogen inactivation by ultrashort pulsed lasers, performed laser irradiation experiments, carried out the assays and drafted the manuscript. TCW participated in the assays and discussions. JGK participated in the assay and discussions. KTT proposed the idea of pathogen inactivation by ultrashort pulsed lasers, performed laser irradiation experiments, and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript
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