Antibacterial Activity of Pharmaceutical-Grade Rose Bengal: An Application of a Synthetic Dye in Antibacterial Therapies |
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| Authors: | Michio Kurosu Katsuhiko Mitachi Junshu Yang Edward V. Pershing Bruce D. Horowitz Eric A. Wachter John W. Lacey III Yinduo Ji Dominic J. Rodrigues |
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| Affiliation: | 1.Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 881 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA;2.Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, 205 VSB, 1971 Commonwealth Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA; (J.Y.); (Y.J.);3.Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., 10025 Investment Drive, Suite 250, Knoxville, TN 37932, USA; (E.V.P.); (B.D.H.); (E.A.W.); (J.W.L.III); (D.J.R.) |
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| Abstract: | Rose bengal has been used in the diagnosis of ophthalmic disorders and liver function, and has been studied for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. To date, the antibacterial activity of rose bengal has been sporadically reported; however, these data have been generated with a commercial grade of rose bengal, which contains major uncontrolled impurities generated by the manufacturing process (80–95% dye content). A high-purity form of rose bengal formulation (HP-RBf, >99.5% dye content) kills a battery of Gram-positive bacteria, including drug-resistant strains at low concentrations (0.01–3.13 μg/mL) under fluorescent, LED, and natural light in a few minutes. Significantly, HP-RBf effectively eradicates Gram-positive bacterial biofilms. The frequency that Gram-positive bacteria spontaneously developed resistance to HP-RB is extremely low (less than 1 × 10−13). Toxicity data obtained through our research programs indicate that HP-RB is feasible as an anti-infective drug for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) involving multidrug-resistant (MDR) microbial invasion of the skin, and for eradicating biofilms. This article summarizes the antibacterial activity of pharmaceutical-grade rose bengal, HP-RB, against Gram-positive bacteria, its cytotoxicity against skin cells under illumination conditions, and mechanistic insights into rose bengal’s bactericidal activity under dark conditions. |
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| Keywords: | rose bengal (RB) high-purity form of rose bengal (HP-RB) antibacterial activity drug-resistant gram-positive pathogens multidrug-resistant bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium biofilms whole genome analyses |
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