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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

The Synergistic Effect of Visible Light and Gentamycin on Pseudomona aeruginosa Microorganisms
Published on: July 2, 2013
Ultraviolet radiation-induced production of superoxide radicals by selected antibiotics
R S Ray1, S Mehrotra, S Prakash
1Photobiology Laboratory Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, India.
Abstract:
The ability of certain drugs and chemicals to induce cutaneous phototoxicity and DNA damage has been attributed to free radical formation during photolysis. In this context we have observed that the synergistic action of commonly used antibiotics and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exhibited strong superoxide radical (O2-) generation potential in the following order: benzylpenicillin > amphotericin > ampicillin > nystatin > spectinomycin > gentamicin. Commercially available penicillin, nystatin, ampicillin and gentamicin also generated O2- under similar conditions. The results suggest that due precaution are necessary to avoid UVR after the intake of photoreactive drugs.
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