Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy by liposome-encapsulated water-soluble photosensitizers

Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy is an alternative method for killing bacterial cells in view of the increasing problem of multi-antibiotic resistance. We examined the effect of three water-soluble photosensitizers (PhS): methylene blue (MB), neutral red (NR) and rose bengal (RB) on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We compared the efficacy of PhS in their free form and encapsulated in liposomal formulations against various bacterial strains, and determined conditions for the effective use of encapsulated PhS. We found that all three PhS were able to eradicate the Gram-positive microbes Staphylococcus aureus and Sarcina lutea; and MB and RB were effective against St. epidermidis. In the case of the Gram-negative species, MB and RB were cytotoxic against the Shigella flexneri, NR-inactivated Escherichia coli and Salmonella para B, and BR was effective in killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. None of the examined PhS showed activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae. MB and NR enclosed in liposomes gave a stronger antimicrobial effect than free PhS for all tested prokaryotes, whereas encapsulation of RB led to no increase in its activity. We suggest that encapsulation of PhS can increase the photoinactivation of bacteria.