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New Molecular Insights into Antimicrobial Photo-Treatments
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New Molecular Insights into Antimicrobial Photo-Treatments

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2024) | Viewed by 5496

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pietro Delcanale

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy
Interests: photo-active molecules; fluorescence microscopy; nanomedicine; photodynamic inactivation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for the identification of new and effective treatments against emerging health threats. The insurgence of new microbial infections, including the growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacterial species, calls for a renewed effort towards the development of antimicrobials that do not induce resistance in microorganisms. Antimicrobial photo-treatments, such as photodynamic inactivation (PDI), antimicrobial photo-thermal therapy (PTT) or blue/near UV light-induced inactivation, are regarded as a viable alternative to antibiotics in a large variety of cases.

We invite investigators who are active in the field to submit original research papers as well as review articles to this Special Issue, to highlight the realization and the use of molecular and nano-systems for antimicrobial photo-treaments, to provide new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of microbial photo-inactivation or to propose stimulating ideas and novel applications to expand the use of the methodology. Scientific contributions are expected to provide molecular-level information about the systems and/or the processes under study. The issue will focus on, but will not be limited to, the following aspects:

  • Fundamental mechanisms of PDI, PTT or UV light-based antimicrobial treatments;
  • New photo-activated materials, including molecules and nanomaterials;
  • New formulations of existing photo-activated agents;
  • Targeted photo-treatments against bacteria and viruses;
  • Photo-treatments exploiting endogenous molecules;
  • Visualization of functional photo-activated agents in situ with advanced microscopy;
  • Combination treatments with, e.g., antibiotics or antibodies;
  • Photo-activated molecular systems for industrial and large-scale applications.

Dr. Pietro Delcanale
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photodynamic inactivation
  • photo-thermal therapy
  • photosensitization
  • antimicrobials
  • reactive oxygen species
  • photo-treatments
  • antibiotic resistance
  • singlet oxygen
  • antivirals

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1507 KiB  
Communication
Insights on the Mechanical Properties of SARS-CoV-2 Particles and the Effects of the Photosensitizer Hypericin
by Matteo Mariangeli, Ana Moreno, Pietro Delcanale, Stefania Abbruzzetti, Alberto Diaspro, Cristiano Viappiani and Paolo Bianchini
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 8724; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168724 - 10 Aug 2024
Viewed by 3792
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is a highly pathogenic virus responsible for the COVID-19 disease. It belongs to the Coronaviridae family, characterized by a phospholipid envelope, which is crucial for viral entry and replication in host cells. Hypericin, a lipophilic, naturally occurring photosensitizer, was reported to effectively [...] Read more.
SARS-CoV-2 is a highly pathogenic virus responsible for the COVID-19 disease. It belongs to the Coronaviridae family, characterized by a phospholipid envelope, which is crucial for viral entry and replication in host cells. Hypericin, a lipophilic, naturally occurring photosensitizer, was reported to effectively inactivate enveloped viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, upon light irradiation. In addition to its photodynamic activity, Hyp was found to exert an antiviral action also in the dark. This study explores the mechanical properties of heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 viral particles using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Results reveal a flexible structure under external stress, potentially contributing to the virus pathogenicity. Although the fixation protocol causes damage to some particles, correlation with fluorescence demonstrates colocalization of partially degraded virions with their genome. The impact of hypericin on the mechanical properties of the virus was assessed and found particularly relevant in dark conditions. These preliminary results suggest that hypericin can affect the mechanical properties of the viral envelope, an effect that warrants further investigation in the context of antiviral therapies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Molecular Insights into Antimicrobial Photo-Treatments)
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18 pages, 3253 KiB  
Article
Concanavalin A Delivers a Photoactive Protein to the Bacterial Wall
by Andrea Mussini, Pietro Delcanale, Melissa Berni, Stefano Pongolini, Mireia Jordà-Redondo, Montserrat Agut, Peter J. Steinbach, Santi Nonell, Stefania Abbruzzetti and Cristiano Viappiani
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(11), 5751; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25115751 - 25 May 2024
Viewed by 1218
Abstract
Modular supramolecular complexes, where different proteins are assembled to gather targeting capability and photofunctional properties within the same structures, are of special interest for bacterial photodynamic inactivation, given their inherent biocompatibility and flexibility. We have recently proposed one such structure, exploiting the tetrameric [...] Read more.
Modular supramolecular complexes, where different proteins are assembled to gather targeting capability and photofunctional properties within the same structures, are of special interest for bacterial photodynamic inactivation, given their inherent biocompatibility and flexibility. We have recently proposed one such structure, exploiting the tetrameric bacterial protein streptavidin as the main building block, to target S. aureus protein A. To expand the palette of targets, we have linked biotinylated Concanavalin A, a sugar-binding protein, to a methylene blue-labelled streptavidin. By applying a combination of spectroscopy and microscopy, we demonstrate the binding of Concanavalin A to the walls of Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli. Photoinactivation is observed for both bacterial strains in the low micromolar range, although the moderate affinity for the molecular targets and the low singlet oxygen yields limit the overall efficiency. Finally, we apply a maximum entropy method to the analysis of autocorrelation traces, which proves particularly useful when interpreting signals measured for diffusing systems heterogeneous in size, such as fluorescent species bound to bacteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Molecular Insights into Antimicrobial Photo-Treatments)
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