Musolino, Stefania F.Shatila, FatimaTieman, Grace M. O.Masarsky, Anna C.Thibodeau, Matthew C.Wulff, Jeremy E.Buckley, Heather L.2024-01-242024-01-2420222022Musolino, S. F., Shatila, F., Tieman, G. M. O., Masarsky, A. C., Thibodeau, M. C., Wulff, J. E., Buckley, H. L. (2022). Light-induced anti-bacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus of porphyrin covalently bonded to a polyethylene terephthalate surface. ACS Omega, 7(33), 29517-29525. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c04294https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c04294http://hdl.handle.net/1828/15879The authors thank the department of microbiology and biochemistry for providing the S. aureus strain and Rebecca Hof and Dr. Joanne Hobbs for training and support.Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation represents a promising and potentially greener alternative to conventional antimicrobials, and a solution for multidrug-resistant strains. The current study reports the development and characterization of tetra-substituted diazirine porphyrin covalently bonded to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and its use as an antimicrobial surface. The diazirine moiety on the porphyrin was activated using a temperature of 120 °C, which initiated a C−H insertion mechanism that irreversibly functionalized the PET surface. Activation of the surface with white LED light in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) led to singlet oxygen generation, which was detected via the degradation of 9,10-anthracenediylbis(methylene)dimalonic acid (ADMA) over time. The bactericidal effect of the 1O2-producing surface against Staphylococcus aureus was determined qualitatively and quantitatively. The growth of the pathogen beneath porphyrin-functionalized PET coupons was reduced; moreover, the PET coupons resulted in a 1.76-log reduction in cell counts after exposure to white LED light for 6 h. This is a promising material and platform for the development of safer antimicrobial surfaces, with applications in healthcare, food packaging, marine surfaces, and other surfaces in the environment.enLightMoleculesOxygenPositron emission topographyPyrrolesArticleDepartment of Civil EngineeringDepartment of Chemistry