{"id":4324,"date":"2019-04-05T12:03:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T16:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qa.vet.purdue.edu\/news\/?p=4324"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:14:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:14:50","slug":"research-involving-pvm-scholar-finds-blue-light-could-treat-superbug-infections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/research-involving-pvm-scholar-finds-blue-light-could-treat-superbug-infections.php","title":{"rendered":"Research Involving PVM Scholar Finds Blue light Could Treat Superbug Infections"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"A
Mohammed Seleem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Methicillin-resistant\nStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacterium that causes infection in various\nparts of the body, is often called a \u201csuperbug\u201d thanks to its ability to dodge\nmany common antibiotics. Researchers at Purdue University and Boston University\nhave discovered that exposing the bug to blue light can render it defenseless\nagainst antiseptics as mild as hydrogen peroxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although most MRSA infections are not serious, some can be life-threatening, sometimes resulting in amputation of the infected appendage.  Rather than rolling the dice with a multi-drug combination or wasting precious time trying to determine which medicine to prescribe, doctors could soon use a new method for disarming the superbugs: light therapy. The research findings were published in the journal Advanced Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis new tool can treat any superficial wound infected with MRSA, which are typically very difficult to treat,\u201d said Dr. Mohamed Seleem, professor of microbiology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology. \u201cThe device itself is very small and easy to use. We\u2019re hoping that in the next few years, anyone could carry it around in their purse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Described in a Purdue news release issued Tuesday, April 2, the research already has garnered significant media attention, being covered in numerous media outlets including the BBC.  Dr. Seleem was interviewed on the BBC\u2019s program called The Newsroom.  The interview is about 11 minutes and 45 seconds into the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some bacteria, including certain strains of staph, produce pigments. These pigments are associated with the organism\u2019s ability to damage the host, and if you know how to reduce the pigment, then, you might be able to reduce the organism\u2019s activity in the body. This practice is known as photobleaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you bleach\nsomething in the washing machine, you\u2019re extracting the color using chemicals.\nWhat we\u2019re doing here is similar, but we\u2019re using blue light,\u201d said Dr. Seleem,\nwho researches antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After achieving\npromising results in vitro, the researchers exposed mice with MRSA-infected\nwounds to different wavelengths of light. The infections responded especially\nwell to light in the blue region, and combined with a low-concentration\nhydrogen peroxide, were reduced significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology is patented<\/a> through Purdue\u2019s Office of Technology Commercialization. Dr. Ji-Xin Cheng<\/a>, a professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, is working to arrange clinical trials through BU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research was\nsupported by the W.M. Keck Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work aligns with Purdue’s Giant Leaps celebration, acknowledging the University\u2019s global advancements made in health, longevity, and quality of life as part of Purdue\u2019s 150th anniversary. This is one of the four themes of the yearlong celebration\u2019s Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to view a Purdue news release about the research<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacterium that causes infection in various parts of the body, is often called a \u201csuperbug\u201d thanks to its ability to dodge many common antibiotics. Researchers at Purdue University and Boston University have discovered that exposing the bug to blue light can render it defenseless against antiseptics as mild as hydrogen peroxide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,37,29,11],"tags":[918,123,8,602,56,816,171,765,150,766,25],"class_list":["post-4324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-staff","category-infectious-diseases-and-immunology","category-our-people","category-research","tag-antimicrobial-resistance","tag-cpb","tag-faculty","tag-giant-leaps","tag-homepage","tag-infectious-diseases-and-immunology","tag-mohamed-seleem","tag-mrsa","tag-research","tag-superbug","tag-top-story"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4324"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34617,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4324\/revisions\/34617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}