Contributed by Dr. Ashok Tamhankar and Dr. Nishtha Khatri
Ultraviolet (UV) light is emerging as an important source to prevent antibiotic resistance. UV light has shown a potential to effectively damage DNA and thereby prevent the transfer of genetic material from a resistant organism to a susceptible one. Recently, LED are making their appearance as a source of UV radiation over and above the conventional sources such as mercury lamps which are barely used these days. LED are a safer alternative since the light emitted is more easily tuned for better absorption by DNA and repair proteins. In a recent study, it was seen that UV light can effectively destroy antibiotic resistance genes. However, due to lack of evidence in this arena, more studies will be required to establish the interrelatedness between UV light and the inactivation of antibiotic resistance genes.
