@article {149701, title = {Recent Patents on Light-Based Anti-Infective Approaches.}, journal = {Recent patents on anti-infective drug discovery}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 11 07}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious health threats to modern medicine. The lack of potent antibiotics puts us at a disadvantage in the fight against infectious diseases, especially those caused by antibiotic-resistant microbial strains. To this end, an urgent need to search for alternative antimicrobial approaches has arisen. In the last decade, light-based therapy has made significant strides in this fight to combat antibiotic resistance among various microbial strains. This method includes utilizing antimicrobial blue light, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, and germicidal ultraviolet irradiation, among others. Light-based therapy is advantageous over traditional antibiotic-based therapy in that it selectively eradicates microbial cells without harming human cells and tissues.

METHODS: This review highlights the patents on light-based therapy that were filed approximately within the last decade and are dedicated to eradicating pathogenic microbes.

RESULTS: The treatments and devices discussed in this review are interestingly enough to be used in various different functions and settings, such as dental applications, certain diseases in the eye, skin and hard surface cleansing, decontamination of internal organs (e.g., the stomach), decontamination of apparel and equipment, eradication of pathogenic microbes from buildings and rooms, etc. Most of the devices and inventions introduce methods of destroying pathogenic bacteria and fungi without harming human cells.

CONCLUSIONS: Light-based antimicrobial approaches hold great promise for the future in regards to treating antibiotic-resistant infections and diseases.

}, issn = {2212-4071}, doi = {10.2174/1872213X11666171108104104}, author = {Ahmed, Imran and Fang, Yanyan and Lu, Min and Yan, Quan and El-Hussein, Ahmed Mohamed Kamel and Hamblin, Michael R. and Dai, Tianhong} }