Photodynamic therapy alone or in combination to counteract bacterial infections.

Introduction: Antibacterial photodynamic therapy presents a promising alternative to antibiotics, with potential against multidrug-resistant bacteria, offering broad-spectrum action, reduced resistance risk, and improved tissue selectivity.

Areas covered: This manuscript reviews patent literature in the field of antibacterial photodynamic therapy through the period of 2019-2023. All data are from the US and European patent databases and SciFinder.

Expert opinion: Antibacterial photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an appealing approach for treating bacterial infections, especially biofilm-related ones, by releasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon light activation. Its success is driven by a growing variety of photosensitizers (PSs) with tailored properties, like water solubility, controllable surface charge, and ROS generation efficiency. Among them, Aggregation Induced Emission (AIE)-type PSs are promising, demonstrating enhanced efficacy when aggregated in biological environments. However, the penetration of pristine PSs into bacterial biofilms within deep tissues or complex anatomical regions is limited, reducing their antibacterial effectiveness. To address this, nanotechnology has been integrated into antibacterial PDT to synthesize various nano-PSs. This adaptability allows seamless integration with other antimicrobial treatments, offering a comprehensive approach to combat localized infections, especially in dentistry and dermatology. By combining PSs with complementary therapies, antibacterial PDT offers a multifaceted strategy for effective microbial control and management.