Photothermal inactivation of bacteria on plasmonic nanostructures

Hospital-acquired bacterial infections are frequently associated with the pathogenic biofilms on surfaces of devices and instruments used in medical procedures. The utilization of thermal plasmonic agents is an innovative approach for sterilizing hospital equipment and for in vivo therapeutic treatment of bacterial infection. A photothermal inactivation technique via array of nanoporous gold disks (NPGDs) has been developed by irradiating near infrared (NIR) light onto deposited bacterial cells (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Exiguobacterium AT1B) on the surface of metal nanostructure. The physical and photothermal properties of the NPGD substrate were investigated using topographical scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermographic infrared imaging. Bacterial viability studies on NPGD substrates irradiated with and without NIR light were evaluated using a fluorescence-based two-component stain assay. The results show that the heat generated from the NPGD substrate promotes high cell death counts (similar to 100%) at short exposure durations (<25 s) even for thermally-resistant bacterial strains. The photothermal effects on NPGD substrate can lead to point-of-care applications.