Killing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by low-power laser light

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a methicillin-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) could be sensitised by toluidine blue O (TBO) to killing by light from a low-power helium/neon (HeNe) laser. Suspensions containing c. 10(10) cfu of MRSA were irradiated with light from a 35 mW HeNe laser (energy dose: 0.5-2.1 J) in the presence of TBO (1.6-12.5 micrograms/ml) and the survivors were enumerated. The kills attained depended on both the light energy dose and concentration of TBO employed. A 4.47 log10 reduction in the viable count was achieved with a TBO concentration of 12.5 micrograms/ml and a light dose of 2.1 J (energy density 43 J/cm2). MRSA were susceptible to killing by the laser light within 30 s of exposure to the TBO. The results of this study have demonstrated that MRSA can be rapidly sensitised by TBO to killing by HeNe laser light and that killing depends on the light energy dose and sensitiser concentration.