Killing bacterial spores with blue light: when innate resistance meets the power of light.
Summary of "Killing bacterial spores with blue light: when innate resistance meets the power of light."
This article is a highlight of the paper by Maclean et al. in this issue of Photochemistry and Photobiology describing the sporicidal effects 405 nm visible light alone on endospores of the Clostridium and Bacillus genera. 1.73 kJ cm(-2) was capable of reducing endospore colony forming units by up to 4-log(10.) These findings have never been previously demonstrated and may be incorporated into decontamination methods that span medical, military, and food preparatory applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Photochemistry and Photobiology © 2012 The American Society of Photobiology.
Affiliation
Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY; The Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Photochemistry and photobiology
ISSN: 1751-1097
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22946878
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-1097.2012.01233.x
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Phycocyanin
The metal-free blue phycobilin pigment in a conjugated chromoprotein of blue-green algae. It functions as light-absorbing substance together with chlorophylls.
Phototropins
Blue-light receptors that regulate a range of physiological responses in PLANTS. Examples include: PHOTOTROPISM, light-induced stomatal opening, and CHLOROPLAST movements in response to changes in light intensity.
Nevus, Blue
Usually a benign tumor, that commonly presents as a solitary blue nodule with spindled MELANOCYTES covered by smooth SKIN. Several variants have been identified, one variant being malignant. The blue color is caused by large, densely packed melanocytes deep in the DERMIS of the nevus. In CHILDREN, they usually occur on the BUTTOCKS and LUMBOSACRAL REGION and are referred to as cellular blue nevi. Malignant blue nevi are more commonly found on the SCALP.
Cryptochromes
Flavoproteins that function as circadian rhythm signaling proteins in ANIMALS and as blue-light photoreceptors in PLANTS. They are structurally-related to DNA PHOTOLYASES and it is believed that both classes of proteins may have originated from an earlier protein that played a role in protecting primitive organisms from the cyclical exposure to UV LIGHT.
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Microscopy of specimens stained with fluorescent dye (usually fluorescein isothiocyanate) or of naturally fluorescent materials, which emit light when exposed to ultraviolet or blue light. Immunofluorescence microscopy utilizes antibodies that are labeled with fluorescent dye.
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