Evaluation of a rhenium glycosylated complex as sonosensitizer for inactivation of E. coli in vitro

Bacterial infections pose a threat to public health worldwide with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Moreover, current antibiotics are proving to have limited efficacy against resistant pathogens, and newer antibiotics are scarce. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop alternative and adjunct therapies. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is an emerging approach for combating bacterial infections. In this study, we investigated the effect of a novel sonosensitizer, i.e., rhenium glycosylated complex, against a model bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli). Rhenium glycosylated complex-based sonosensitizer was assessed for in vitro reactive oxygen species generation in response to the ultrasound (US) exposure, which showed the highest ROS generation at 0.6 and 1.1 W/cm2 US intensities with 3 min exposure. Further, a rhenium glycosylated complex-based sonosensitizer was evaluated for sonodynamic effect against E. coli and exhibited a significant decrease of cell viability with a combination of US exposure compared to only rhenium glycosylated complex, only US exposure, and control (no treatment). These findings demonstrate the preliminary potential of the rhenium glycosylated complex as a sonosensitizer for inactivating E. coli, paving the way for further investigations.