Photodynamic Inactivation of Endopathogenic Microbiota Using Curcumin- mediated Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy

Root canal disinfection is one of the main factors governing success of endodontic therapy. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is presented as a promising antimicrobial therapy that can eliminate microbiota present in infected root canal systems. In this study, a series of experiments investigated the effects of aPDT on cell viability and biofilm degradation ability of endopathogenic microbiota. Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains as the versatile pathogenic microbiota in endodontic infections were used as the tested strains. Curcumin (CUR) and light-emitting diode (LED) were used as the photosensitizer and light source, respectively. The antimicrobial and anti-biofilm effects of CUR-aPDT were assessed by colony forming unit (CFU), and crystal violet assays. CUR-aPDT significantly decreased the CFU/mL count of E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa compared to the control group (P