The threats posed by the impending "postantibiotic era" have put forward urgent challenges to be overcome by providing new diagnostic and therapeutic regimes for improved diagnosis and treatment of bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance and incurable bacterial infections are especially important in a society faced with rapid demographic changes. With very few new antibiotics in the drug development pipeline, not being able to match the pace of antimicrobial resistance evolution, developments within other fields such as materials sciences and medical technologies are required to realize innovative antibacterial approaches. This progress report presents recent advances in especially nanotechnology-based approaches and their concomitant use with complementary antibacterial treatments. Synergistically improved antibacterial activity can be reached by considering novel, promising approaches such as photodynamic and photothermal therapy as well as cold atmospheric pressure treatments as complementary strategies to fight against antibacterial resistance. Moreover, this report describes how these novel technologies can be further improved especially by integration of nanomaterials into the currently applied single modal strategies against bacterial infections.

The combination of ICG and 809 nm laser light was found as an effective antibacterial method to destroy antibiotic-resistant strains of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Infections with pathogens could cause serious health problems, such as septicemia and subsequent death. Some of these deaths are caused by nosocomial, chronic, or burn-related wound infections. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can be useful for the treatment of these infections. Our aim was to investigate the antibacterial effect of indocyanine green (ICG) and 808-nm laser on a rat abrasion wound model infected with the multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain. Abrasion wounds were infected with a multidrug resistant clinical isolate of S. aureus. ICG concentrations of 500, 1000, and 2000 μg∕ml were applied with a 450 J∕cm2 energy dose. Temperature change was monitored by a thermocouple system. The remaining bacterial burden was determined by the serial dilution method after each application. Wounds were observed for 11 days posttreatment. The recovery process was assessed macroscopically. Tissue samples were also examined histologically by hematoxylin–eosin staining. Around a 90% reduction in bacterial burden was observed after applications. In positive control groups (ICG-only and laser-only groups), there was no significant reduction. The applied energy dose did not cause any thermal damage to the target tissue or host environment. Results showed that ICG together with a 808-nm laser might be a promising antibacterial method to eliminate infections in animals and accelerate the wound-healing process.

Background Photobiomodulation (PBM) depends on the use of non‐ionizing light energy to trigger photochemical changes, particularly in light‐sensitive mitochondrial structures. It triggers proliferation and the metabolic activity of the cells, primarily by utilizing the energy from the near‐infrared to the red wavelength of the light. Purpose This in vitro study has analyzed comparatively the most appropriate energy doses and wavelengths to induce PBM on keratinocytes and fibroblasts for the accelerated wound healing process. Methods 1, 3, and 5 J/cm2 energy densities of 655 and 808‐nm diode lasers were used to promote cell proliferation and wound healing process. Scratch assay and MTT analysis were performed on keratinocytes and fibroblasts for wound closure and cell proliferation after the triple light applications, respectively. Results 655‐nm of wavelength was more successful on keratinocytes to induce wound healing and cell proliferation, whereas 808‐nm of wavelength was so effective on fibroblasts to heal the wounds totally and it induced cell proliferation almost 3 times compared to the untreated control group. Conclusion This study revealed that PBM with 655 and 808 nm of wavelengths was effective to speed up the wound healing process at specific energy densities. In general 808‐nm of wavelength was more successful. However, the proper wavelength and the energy density may differ according to the cell type. Thus, every light parameter should be chosen properly to obtain better outcomes during PBM applications.