Zinc(II)-Tetradentate-Coordinated Probe with Aggregation-Induced Emission Characteristics for Selective Imaging and Photoinactivation of Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: The emergence of drug-resistant bacterial pathogens highlights an urgent need for new therapeutic options. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a potential alternative to antibiotics to kill bacteria, which has been used in clinical settings. PDT employs photosensitizers (PSs), light, and oxygen to kill bacteria by generating highly reactive oxygen species (ROS). PDT can target both external and internal structures of bacteria, which does not really require the PSs to enter bacteria. Therefore, bacteria can hardly develop resistance to PDT. However, most of the PSs reported so far are hydrophobic and tend to form aggregates when they interact with bacteria. The aggregation could cause fluorescence quenching and reduce ROS generation, which generally compromises the effects of both ima

SUBMITTER: Feng G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6044760 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature