Bacterial infection and the growth of antibiotic resistance is a serious problem that leads to patient suffering, death and increased costs of healthcare. To address this problem, we propose using flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as light sources for photodynamic therapy (PDT) to kill bacteria. PDT involves the use of light and a photosensitizer to generate reactive oxygen species that kill neighbouring cells. We have developed flexible top-emitting OLEDs with the ability to tune the emission peak from 669 to 737 nm to match the photosensitizer, together with high irradiance, low driving voltage, long operational lifetime and adequate shelf-life. These features enable OLEDs to be the ideal candidate for ambulatory PDT light sources. A detailed study of OLED–PDT for killing Staphylococcus aureus was performed. The results show that our OLEDs in combination with the photosensitizer methylene blue, can kill more than 99% of bacteria. This indicates a huge potential for using OLEDs to treat bacterial infections.

细菌感染和抗生素抗性的增长是一个严重的问题，导致患者痛苦，死亡和医疗费用增加。为了解决这个问题，我们建议使用柔性有机发光二极管（OLED）作为光动力疗法（PDT）杀死细菌的光源。PDT涉及光和光敏剂的使用，以产生杀死周围细胞的活性氧。我们开发了柔性顶部发射OLED，能够将发射峰从669 nm调整到737 nm以匹配光敏剂，同时具有高辐照度，低驱动电压，长使用寿命和足够的保质期。这些功能使OLED成为动态PDT光源的理想选择。OLED-PDT杀灭金黄色葡萄球菌的详细研究被执行了。结果表明，我们的OLED与光敏剂亚甲基蓝组合可以杀死超过99％的细菌。这表明使用OLED治疗细菌感染的巨大潜力。