Effect of photoxidation on bacterial persistence

Antimicrobial resistance is a global health problem that stems from the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, resulting in the emergence and spread of resistant pathogens. Bacterial persistence is a phenomenon where cells survive prolonged exposure to a bactericidal antibiotic despite being genetically susceptible Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) combines the use of photosensitizers and specific light to generate reactive oxygen species that can inactivate bacteria. Studies have shown that the combination of PDI and antibiotics has synergistic effects in treating infections. The use of PDI combined with antibiotics is a promising approach for the treatment of persistent infections. This work consists of applying doses of bactericidal antibiotics such as amoxicillin in strains of Staphylococcus aureus to evaluate their time-dependent death, isolate and culture persistent cells for application of subdoses of PDI observing their effects on bacteria with the persistence phenotype.