Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026
Investigation of a Blue Light LED Device to Suppress Wound Pathogens Using a Collagen-Based Synthetic Skin Model
Published on: February 24, 2026
Phototherapy with LED light modulates healing processes in an in vitro scratch-wound model using 3 different cell
Andreas Teuschl1, Elizabeth Rosado Balmayor, Heinz Redl
1*Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, AUVA Research Center, Vienna, Austria; †Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria; ‡Department of Biochemical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, Vienna, Austria; §Department of Experimental Trauma Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Background:
An effective way of modulating wound healing processes, including proliferation and apoptosis, is low-level light therapy. Because of several disadvantages of lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could be more feasible light sources.
Objective:
To evaluate and compare the effects of blue and red light from LEDs on different cell types in an in vitro scratch-wound model.
Methods:
Monolayers of C2C12 myoblasts, NIH/3T3 fibroblasts, and BICR10 keratinocytes were injured by mechanical scraping. Cells were illuminated on 5 consecutive days for 10 minutes by LED at 470 or 630 nm. Effects of light on in vitro wound healing were evaluated by analyzing time to closure, proliferation, apoptosis, and necrosis rates.
Results:
Illumination substantially affected cell viability and cell growth. Blue light strongly decreased proliferation and augmented apoptosis in all 3 cell types and increased necrosis rates in C2C12 and NIH/3T3 cells. In contrast, red light did not alter apoptosis in either cell type but promoted proliferation in all 3 cell types with significant effects in C2C12 and NIH/3T3 cells and shortened time to closure in all 3 cell types.
Conclusion:
Light-emitting diode light illumination could be a therapeutic option and positively affect wound healing processes. By choosing appropriate wavelengths, variable effects can be achieved.
More Related Videos
09:34Scratch Migration Assay and Dorsal Skinfold Chamber for In Vitro and In Vivo Analysis of Wound Healing
Published on: September 26, 2019
10:05Stimulation of Stem Cell Niches and Tissue Regeneration in Mouse Skin by Switchable Protoporphyrin IX-Dependent Photogeneration of Reactive Oxygen Species In Situ
Published on: May 8, 2020