The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions

The demand for establishing an effective but inexpensive method to interfere with the spread of infectious diseases has been higher than ever before, since the recent pandemic. As a follow-up study, we tested a few practically applicable lights with a safe 410nm violet light (V) with infrared (IR, 8...

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Main Authors: Matthew Stangl, Dinesh Kumar Verma, Areli Martinez, Yong-Hwan Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1624160/full
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author Matthew Stangl
Matthew Stangl
Dinesh Kumar Verma
Dinesh Kumar Verma
Areli Martinez
Yong-Hwan Kim
Yong-Hwan Kim
author_facet Matthew Stangl
Matthew Stangl
Dinesh Kumar Verma
Dinesh Kumar Verma
Areli Martinez
Yong-Hwan Kim
Yong-Hwan Kim
author_sort Matthew Stangl
collection DOAJ
description The demand for establishing an effective but inexpensive method to interfere with the spread of infectious diseases has been higher than ever before, since the recent pandemic. As a follow-up study, we tested a few practically applicable lights with a safe 410nm violet light (V) with infrared (IR, 850nm) under realistic conditions to identify an optimal light for suppressing pathogens. Our results indicate that 410nm violet light is as effective as the previously tested 405nm violet light with infrared (850nm). Therefore, we focused on optimizing combined lights (3V-1IR or 2.33V-1IR) with lower power level that is below 24 Watt. Using the Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from ATCC, we confirmed that the combined 20W light effectively suppressed the survival of both MDR bacterial strains on a smooth surface at the distance of 25cm, 50cm, 1m or 2m, which mimicked the realistic living spaces. As expected, the effectiveness was inversely proportional to the exposed distance. For example, the light exposure suppressed more than 91-97% of E. coli within 1–2 hours and 96-99% of S. aureus within 2–6 hours at short distances (25 or 50cm), whereas it took 6–8 hours to reach 92-95% of E. coli and 91-99% of S. aureus suppression at 1 or 2m. In the mechanistic studies, we confirmed that the bacterial death was mediated by the enhanced level of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), in addition to reduced thickness of biofilm from 410nm and 850nm infrared light. Our results strongly support the possible application of using this combined 410nm with infrared light as an inexpensive and practical solution to reduce the potential pathogens, at least from bacterial origins in a variety of living spaces.
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spelling doaj-art-ec236cf9480f4e9382d805bf6f6aa0d72025-08-20T03:16:22ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology2235-29882025-08-011510.3389/fcimb.2025.16241601624160The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditionsMatthew Stangl0Matthew Stangl1Dinesh Kumar Verma2Dinesh Kumar Verma3Areli Martinez4Yong-Hwan Kim5Yong-Hwan Kim6Department of Biological Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United StatesNeuroscience Program, School of Allied Health Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United StatesNeuroscience Program, School of Allied Health Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, United StatesThe demand for establishing an effective but inexpensive method to interfere with the spread of infectious diseases has been higher than ever before, since the recent pandemic. As a follow-up study, we tested a few practically applicable lights with a safe 410nm violet light (V) with infrared (IR, 850nm) under realistic conditions to identify an optimal light for suppressing pathogens. Our results indicate that 410nm violet light is as effective as the previously tested 405nm violet light with infrared (850nm). Therefore, we focused on optimizing combined lights (3V-1IR or 2.33V-1IR) with lower power level that is below 24 Watt. Using the Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from ATCC, we confirmed that the combined 20W light effectively suppressed the survival of both MDR bacterial strains on a smooth surface at the distance of 25cm, 50cm, 1m or 2m, which mimicked the realistic living spaces. As expected, the effectiveness was inversely proportional to the exposed distance. For example, the light exposure suppressed more than 91-97% of E. coli within 1–2 hours and 96-99% of S. aureus within 2–6 hours at short distances (25 or 50cm), whereas it took 6–8 hours to reach 92-95% of E. coli and 91-99% of S. aureus suppression at 1 or 2m. In the mechanistic studies, we confirmed that the bacterial death was mediated by the enhanced level of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), in addition to reduced thickness of biofilm from 410nm and 850nm infrared light. Our results strongly support the possible application of using this combined 410nm with infrared light as an inexpensive and practical solution to reduce the potential pathogens, at least from bacterial origins in a variety of living spaces.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1624160/fullliving space850nmROS inductionreduced biofilmMDR bacteriaE. coli
spellingShingle Matthew Stangl
Matthew Stangl
Dinesh Kumar Verma
Dinesh Kumar Verma
Areli Martinez
Yong-Hwan Kim
Yong-Hwan Kim
The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
living space
850nm
ROS induction
reduced biofilm
MDR bacteria
E. coli
title The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions
title_full The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions
title_fullStr The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions
title_full_unstemmed The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions
title_short The combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions
title_sort combined 410nm and infrared light effectively suppresses bacterial survival under realistic conditions
topic living space
850nm
ROS induction
reduced biofilm
MDR bacteria
E. coli
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1624160/full
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