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Variations in irradiation energy and rose bengal concentration for photodynamic antimicrobial therapy of fungal keratitis isolates

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Abstract

The purpose is to assess the efficacy of rose bengal photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PDAT) using different irradiation energy levels and photosensitizer concentrations for the inhibition of fungal keratitis isolates. Seven different fungi (Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium keratoplasticum, Fusarium solani, Paecilomyces variotii, and Pseudallescheria boydii) were isolated from patients with confirmed infectious keratitis. Experiments were performed in triplicate with suspensions of each fungus exposed to different PDAT parameters including a control, green light exposure of 5.4 J/cm2, 2.7 J/cm2 (continuous and pulsed), and 1.8 J/cm2 and rose bengal concentrations of 0.1%, 0.05%, and 0.01%. Plates were photographed 72 h after experimentation, and analysis was performed to assess fungal growth inhibition. PDAT using 5.4 J/cm2 of irradiation and 0.1% rose bengal completely inhibited growth of five of the seven fungal species. Candida albicans and Fusarium keratoplasticum were the most susceptible organisms, with growth inhibited with the lowest fluence and minimum rose bengal concentration. Fusarium solani, Pseudallescheria boydii, and Paecilomyces variotii were inhibited by lower light exposures and photosensitizer concentrations. Aspergillus fumigatus and Curvularia lunata were not inhibited by any PDAT parameters tested. Continuous and pulsed irradiation using 2.7 J/cm2 produced similar results. Rose bengal PDAT successfully inhibits the in vitro growth of five fungi known to cause infectious keratitis. Differences in growth inhibition of the various fungi to multiple PDAT parameters suggest that susceptibilities to PDAT are unique among fungal species. These findings support modifying PDAT parameters based on the infectious etiology.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the following members of the Ophthalmic Biophysics Center team: Cornelis Rowaan, BS; Alex Gonzalez, BA; Andres Bernal, MS; and Juan Silgado, MS, for their contribution in the development and fabrication of the irradiation sources. Nicholas Nolan, MS, and Mercury Sawatari, MS, for their assistance in performing the in vitro experiments and data analysis.

Funding

This research was supported by the Edward D. and Janet K. Robson Foundation (Tulsa, OK, USA), the Florida Lions Eye Bank and the Beauty of Sight Foundation (Miami, FL, USA), Drs. K. R. Olsen and M. E. Hildebrandt, Drs. Raksha Urs and Aaron Furtado, NIH Center Core Grant P30EY14801, Research to Prevent Blindness Unrestricted Grant (GR004596-1), and the Henri and Flore Lesieur Foundation (Chicago, IL, USA) (J.-M. Parel).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ophthalmic Biophysics Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Alejandro Arboleda, Heather Durkee, Mariela C. Aguilar, Karam Alawa, Nidhi Relhan & Jean-Marie Parel

  2. Ocular Microbiology Laboratory, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Darlene Miller

  3. Anne Bates Leach Eye Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Darlene Miller, Guillermo Amescua & Jean-Marie Parel

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  1. Alejandro Arboleda
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  2. Heather Durkee
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  3. Darlene Miller
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  4. Mariela C. Aguilar
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  5. Karam Alawa
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  6. Nidhi Relhan
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  7. Guillermo Amescua
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  8. Jean-Marie Parel
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Contributions

AA—study design, experimentation, data analysis, manuscript writing/editing.

HD—study design, experimentation, data analysis, manuscript writing/editing.

DM—study design, data analysis, manuscript editing.

MCA—study design, experimentation, data analysis, manuscript editing.

KA—study design, data analysis, manuscript editing.

NR—experimentation, manuscript editing.

GA—manuscript editing, funding acquisition.

JMP—study design, manuscript editing, funding acquisition.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean-Marie Parel.

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Competing interests

AA, HD, MCA, DM, GA and JMP are named in a patent application on the PDAT instrument submitted by the University of Miami.

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Arboleda, A., Durkee, H., Miller, D. et al. Variations in irradiation energy and rose bengal concentration for photodynamic antimicrobial therapy of fungal keratitis isolates. Lasers Med Sci 39, 72 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-024-04014-1

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