rus
Issue #4/2026
S. N. Shelygina, S. I. Kudryashov, E. R. Tolordava, I. N. Saraeva, V. O. Kompanets, A. A. Nastulyavichus, N. A. Smirnov, S. V. Chekalin
“Smart Heat”: Inactivation of Pathogenic Microorganisms by Femtosecond Laser Radiation in the Mid-Infrared Range
“Smart Heat”: Inactivation of Pathogenic Microorganisms by Femtosecond Laser Radiation in the Mid-Infrared Range
DOI: 10.22184/1993-7296.FRos.2026.20.4.298.310
The food industry and healthcare need to develop new universal and non-resistance-inducing methods of inactivation of pathogenic bacteria that would provide the necessary level of disinfection or sterilization in the required place in a non-contact, non-invasive and economical way.Therefore, alongside conventional (photo)chemical and thermal approaches, significant efforts have recently been devoted to developing a technology for selective inactivation of microorganisms using femtosecond laser pulses in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) range. This method acts directly on selected functional structural components of bacterial cells, without bulk heating of the entire bacterium. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism, it has been demonstrated that the high inactivation efficiency achieved with mid-IR femtosecond laser pulses at the wavelengths of 3.4 and 6 μm, selectively absorbed by the carbohydrate backbone and by proteins/nucleic acids, respectively, is associated with the resultant conformational changes in the structure of proteins, DNA, and RNA within the bacterial cell. Furthermore, femtosecond laser radiation at a wavelength of 6 μm can effectively inactivate bacteria even through a polyethylene film, i. e., without direct air contact.
Subscribe to the journal Photonics Russia to read the full article.
The food industry and healthcare need to develop new universal and non-resistance-inducing methods of inactivation of pathogenic bacteria that would provide the necessary level of disinfection or sterilization in the required place in a non-contact, non-invasive and economical way.Therefore, alongside conventional (photo)chemical and thermal approaches, significant efforts have recently been devoted to developing a technology for selective inactivation of microorganisms using femtosecond laser pulses in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) range. This method acts directly on selected functional structural components of bacterial cells, without bulk heating of the entire bacterium. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism, it has been demonstrated that the high inactivation efficiency achieved with mid-IR femtosecond laser pulses at the wavelengths of 3.4 and 6 μm, selectively absorbed by the carbohydrate backbone and by proteins/nucleic acids, respectively, is associated with the resultant conformational changes in the structure of proteins, DNA, and RNA within the bacterial cell. Furthermore, femtosecond laser radiation at a wavelength of 6 μm can effectively inactivate bacteria even through a polyethylene film, i. e., without direct air contact.
Subscribe to the journal Photonics Russia to read the full article.
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