Performance evaluation of antimicrobial blue light for inactivating multidrug-resistant bacteria on common fabric materials

Hanlin Liu; Huihui Zhang; Alvin C.K. Lai

doi:10.1016/j.jiph.2025.102846

Performance evaluation of antimicrobial blue light for inactivating multidrug-resistant bacteria on common fabric materials

Hanlin Liu (Co-first Author), Huihui Zhang (Co-first Author), Alvin C.K. Lai^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

36 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Background: Fomite transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria in hospitals is a serious public health issue. Antimicrobial blue light (aBL) holds great promise in reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) while being safe for use.
Methods: This study evaluated the influence of surface materials on the bactericidal performance of aBL against three multidrug-resistant bacteria: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Six microbial-contaminated surfaces were studied: glass, cotton, towel, blanket, sofa and bedsheet.
Results: At the same dose of 3.3 J/cm², aBL treatment for bedsheets resulted in a 3.0 times higher log reduction in colony forming counts (CFUs) than sofa material. This significant difference may be partly due to fabric porosity and variations in light penetration. Additionally, a positive linear relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and microbial reduction was established, indicating that higher intracellular ROS levels corresponded linearly to more effective bactericidal performance by aBL. We also systematically compared the penetration and bactericidal performance of aBL with 254 nm Ultraviolet C (UVC) and 222 nm Far-UVC for testing double-layer cotton samples. Both UVC and Far-UVC outperformed aBL treatment for single-layer fabrics. Nonetheless, due to the very low light penetration of shorter wavelengths, the bactericidal efficiency of UVC and Far-UVC was substantially reduced for the bottom-layer sample. For aBL, the difference in bactericidal efficiency data between top-layer and bottom-layer was approximately 10 %.
Conclusion: aBL exhibited varying bactericidal efficacy across different surfaces, with the highest microbial reduction observed on bedsheet and the lowest reduction on sofa fabric. Furthermore, aBL demonstrated superior bactericidal performance against drug-resistant bacteria on multi-layer fabrics compared to Far-UVC and UVC.
© 2025 The Authors.

Original language	English
Article number	102846
Journal	Journal of Infection and Public Health
Volume	18
Issue number	10
Online published	28 May 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2025.102846
Publication status	Published - Oct 2025

Funding

This research was fully supported by General Research Fund project number 11215624 and Collaborative Research Fund C7080–21G from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Research Keywords

Healthcare-associated infections
Multidrug-resistant bacteria
Porous and nonporous materials
Reactive oxygen species
Surface decontamination

Publisher's Copyright Statement

This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

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10.1016/j.jiph.2025.102846

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title = "Performance evaluation of antimicrobial blue light for inactivating multidrug-resistant bacteria on common fabric materials",

abstract = "Background: Fomite transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria in hospitals is a serious public health issue. Antimicrobial blue light (aBL) holds great promise in reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) while being safe for use. Methods: This study evaluated the influence of surface materials on the bactericidal performance of aBL against three multidrug-resistant bacteria: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Six microbial-contaminated surfaces were studied: glass, cotton, towel, blanket, sofa and bedsheet. Results: At the same dose of 3.3 J/cm2, aBL treatment for bedsheets resulted in a 3.0 times higher log reduction in colony forming counts (CFUs) than sofa material. This significant difference may be partly due to fabric porosity and variations in light penetration. Additionally, a positive linear relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and microbial reduction was established, indicating that higher intracellular ROS levels corresponded linearly to more effective bactericidal performance by aBL. We also systematically compared the penetration and bactericidal performance of aBL with 254 nm Ultraviolet C (UVC) and 222 nm Far-UVC for testing double-layer cotton samples. Both UVC and Far-UVC outperformed aBL treatment for single-layer fabrics. Nonetheless, due to the very low light penetration of shorter wavelengths, the bactericidal efficiency of UVC and Far-UVC was substantially reduced for the bottom-layer sample. For aBL, the difference in bactericidal efficiency data between top-layer and bottom-layer was approximately 10 %. Conclusion: aBL exhibited varying bactericidal efficacy across different surfaces, with the highest microbial reduction observed on bedsheet and the lowest reduction on sofa fabric. Furthermore, aBL demonstrated superior bactericidal performance against drug-resistant bacteria on multi-layer fabrics compared to Far-UVC and UVC. {\textcopyright} 2025 The Authors.",

keywords = "Healthcare-associated infections, Multidrug-resistant bacteria, Porous and nonporous materials, Reactive oxygen species, Surface decontamination",

author = "Hanlin Liu and Huihui Zhang and Lai, {Alvin C.K.}",

year = "2025",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1016/j.jiph.2025.102846",

language = "English",

volume = "18",

journal = "Journal of Infection and Public Health",

issn = "1876-0341",

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Performance evaluation of antimicrobial blue light for inactivating multidrug-resistant bacteria on common fabric materials. / Liu, Hanlin (Co-first Author); Zhang, Huihui (Co-first Author); Lai, Alvin C.K.
In: Journal of Infection and Public Health, Vol. 18, No. 10, 102846, 10.2025.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Performance evaluation of antimicrobial blue light for inactivating multidrug-resistant bacteria on common fabric materials

AU - Liu, Hanlin

AU - Zhang, Huihui

AU - Lai, Alvin C.K.

PY - 2025/10

Y1 - 2025/10

N2 - Background: Fomite transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria in hospitals is a serious public health issue. Antimicrobial blue light (aBL) holds great promise in reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) while being safe for use. Methods: This study evaluated the influence of surface materials on the bactericidal performance of aBL against three multidrug-resistant bacteria: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Six microbial-contaminated surfaces were studied: glass, cotton, towel, blanket, sofa and bedsheet. Results: At the same dose of 3.3 J/cm2, aBL treatment for bedsheets resulted in a 3.0 times higher log reduction in colony forming counts (CFUs) than sofa material. This significant difference may be partly due to fabric porosity and variations in light penetration. Additionally, a positive linear relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and microbial reduction was established, indicating that higher intracellular ROS levels corresponded linearly to more effective bactericidal performance by aBL. We also systematically compared the penetration and bactericidal performance of aBL with 254 nm Ultraviolet C (UVC) and 222 nm Far-UVC for testing double-layer cotton samples. Both UVC and Far-UVC outperformed aBL treatment for single-layer fabrics. Nonetheless, due to the very low light penetration of shorter wavelengths, the bactericidal efficiency of UVC and Far-UVC was substantially reduced for the bottom-layer sample. For aBL, the difference in bactericidal efficiency data between top-layer and bottom-layer was approximately 10 %. Conclusion: aBL exhibited varying bactericidal efficacy across different surfaces, with the highest microbial reduction observed on bedsheet and the lowest reduction on sofa fabric. Furthermore, aBL demonstrated superior bactericidal performance against drug-resistant bacteria on multi-layer fabrics compared to Far-UVC and UVC. © 2025 The Authors.

AB - Background: Fomite transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria in hospitals is a serious public health issue. Antimicrobial blue light (aBL) holds great promise in reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) while being safe for use. Methods: This study evaluated the influence of surface materials on the bactericidal performance of aBL against three multidrug-resistant bacteria: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Six microbial-contaminated surfaces were studied: glass, cotton, towel, blanket, sofa and bedsheet. Results: At the same dose of 3.3 J/cm2, aBL treatment for bedsheets resulted in a 3.0 times higher log reduction in colony forming counts (CFUs) than sofa material. This significant difference may be partly due to fabric porosity and variations in light penetration. Additionally, a positive linear relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and microbial reduction was established, indicating that higher intracellular ROS levels corresponded linearly to more effective bactericidal performance by aBL. We also systematically compared the penetration and bactericidal performance of aBL with 254 nm Ultraviolet C (UVC) and 222 nm Far-UVC for testing double-layer cotton samples. Both UVC and Far-UVC outperformed aBL treatment for single-layer fabrics. Nonetheless, due to the very low light penetration of shorter wavelengths, the bactericidal efficiency of UVC and Far-UVC was substantially reduced for the bottom-layer sample. For aBL, the difference in bactericidal efficiency data between top-layer and bottom-layer was approximately 10 %. Conclusion: aBL exhibited varying bactericidal efficacy across different surfaces, with the highest microbial reduction observed on bedsheet and the lowest reduction on sofa fabric. Furthermore, aBL demonstrated superior bactericidal performance against drug-resistant bacteria on multi-layer fabrics compared to Far-UVC and UVC. © 2025 The Authors.

KW - Healthcare-associated infections

KW - Multidrug-resistant bacteria

KW - Porous and nonporous materials

KW - Reactive oxygen species

KW - Surface decontamination

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DO - 10.1016/j.jiph.2025.102846

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 1876-0341

VL - 18

JO - Journal of Infection and Public Health

JF - Journal of Infection and Public Health

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M1 - 102846

ER -

Performance evaluation of antimicrobial blue light for inactivating multidrug-resistant bacteria on common fabric materials

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

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GRF: An Investigation of the Use of Antimicrobial Blue Light for the Effective Surface Disinfection of Multidrug-resistant Organisms in a Hospital Environment

CRF: Digital Twin Supported Rapid Deployable and Reconfigurable Healthcare Facility Module for Infectious Diseases Response and Treatment

Cite this

Performance evaluation of antimicrobial blue light for inactivating multidrug-resistant bacteria on common fabric materials

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Projects

GRF: An Investigation of the Use of Antimicrobial Blue Light for the Effective Surface Disinfection of Multidrug-resistant Organisms in a Hospital Environment

CRF: Digital Twin Supported Rapid Deployable and Reconfigurable Healthcare Facility Module for Infectious Diseases Response and Treatment

Cite this