{
  "abstract": "Dental caries is a prevalent microbial disease, with Streptococcus mutans as a major pathogen. Increasing antibiotic resistance highlights the need for alternative, non-antibiotic strategies. This study evaluated the antimicrobial and anti-virulence potential of nano-hypericin (nHyp)-mediated antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) combined with Lactobacillus casei-derived postbiotic (PSLC). nHyp was synthesized and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering, confirming quasi-spherical nanoparticles (~ 47 nm). PSLC was purified via acid precipitation and chemically profiled by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, revealing diketopiperazines, fatty acids, hydrocarbons, and phenolic compounds. Planktonic S. mutans were treated with nHyp (1.9-1000 µg/mL) ± blue laser irradiation (450 ± 5 nm, 1-5 min), alone or combined with PSLC at 1/2 × MIC (32 µg/mL). Bacterial viability was measured by colony forming unit (CFU)/mL, and gtfB expression quantified by qRT-PCR. nHyp-mediated aPDT induced dose- and time-dependent reductions in bacterial viability (up to 81%), further enhanced by PSLC (up to 90.5%). Sub-lethal aPDT (15.6 µg/mL + 2 min) downregulated gtfB 4.25-fold, whereas combination with PSLC achieved 7.86-fold suppression, indicating inhibition of glucan synthesis relevant to biofilm formation. These findings demonstrate that nHyp-mediated aPDT combined with PSLC enhances antimicrobial and anti-virulence effects under in vitro conditions, representing a promising dual-mechanism, antibiotic-free approach to modulate cariogenic bacterial pathogenicity.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran Medical Science, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.",
    "Dental Research Center, Dentistry Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. m-pourhajibagher@sina.tums.ac.ir.",
    "Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. drarashazizi@yahoo.com.",
    "Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Narges Ghasemi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Maryam Pourhajibagher"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Arash Azizi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Abbas Bahador"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fyyp8kyqc63mk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s13568-026-02097-3",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13719944",
  "id": "fyyp8kyqc63mk",
  "issns": [
    "2191-0855"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42955588",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "QR1-502"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "TP248.13-248.65"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2740|Photodynamic Therapy Research Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7172016151",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13719944?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13719944",
  "pmid": "42955588",
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "SpringerOpen",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fyyp8kyqc63mk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T00:20:47Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42955588",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42955588"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T14:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "11b48a3aa2aa468ca0eb353c06bbe98d",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-026-02097-3"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:23:49Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13719944",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-026-02097-3"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "lcc:QR1-502",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "lcc:TP248.13-248.65",
      "subfield": "systems-synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Combined nano-hypericin antimicrobial photodynamic therapy and postbiotic on Streptococcus mutans.",
  "title_text": "Combined nano-hypericin antimicrobial photodynamic therapy and postbiotic on Streptococcus mutans.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T14:20:52Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fyyp8kyqc63mk",
  "venue": "AMB Express",
  "versions": []
}