Enhancing the photodeactivation efficiency of pathogens in Prosthetic Joint Infection with Methylene blue and silver nanoparticles through efflux pump inhibition.

Bacterial antibiotic resistance poses a pressing global health crisis, challenging conventional therapies. Efflux pumps diminish antimicrobial effectiveness by expelling drugs from bacterial cells. Multidrug efflux pumps (MEPs) have been found to transport diverse compounds, including phenothiazinium dyes like methylene blue, out of bacteria. Inhibition of MEPs offers a promising strategy to bolster the efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (PDT). This research adopts a synergistic approach, combining the efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) , reserpine, with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and methylene blue (MB) to enhance PDT efficiency. Ag NPs were synthesized via pulsed laser ablation and characterized using TEM, UV-Vis, and PL spectra. E. coli was treated with MB, Ag NPs, and reserpine, followed by LED light irradiation. MB was twice as effective, and AgNPs/MB was six times more effective with reserpine during a six-minute irradiation. Ongoing experiments on morphological changes will be presented. AgNPs/MB with reserpine could effectively combat bacterial pathogens in open wounds and prosthetic joint infections.