Research presented by Canadian life sciences company, Ondine Biomedical Inc. (LON:OBI), at the prestigious SPIE Photonics West conference in San Francisco, California shows that treatment with its Steriwave® Nasal Photodisinfection System significantly reduces pathogens in the nose – a reservoir for bacteria – yet does not produce long-term adverse effects on the nasal microbiome.[1]

Upon analysis of nasal swab samples, the research demonstrated an immediate and highly significant (99.9+% ~3 log₁₀) reduction in viable bacterial cells and number of species, sustained for at least 24 hours. Importantly, within a week, the microbiome rebounded to its original diversity and quantity. These findings support Steriwave as an efficient, potent, short-acting, and non-selective method of nasal decolonization, with the advantage of rapid recovery of the native microbiome post-treatment.

In comparison to antibiotics, the study demonstrated that Steriwave is far less likely to significantly alter the native microbiota. The antibiotic mupirocin, commonly used for nasal decolonization, has been shown to affect microbiota diversity for over 6 months, allowing disease-causing pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus to colonize the nose before beneficial species, putting patients at increased risk of infection.[i] Steriwave, in contrast, offers a more favourable profile with the study results showing a reduced risk of long-term microbiome disruption, as the microbiome consistently returns to baseline.

Notably, minimizing microbiome disruption is also important in safeguarding immune function, reducing vulnerability to infectious diseases by maintenance of a microecological environment populated by beneficial commensal microbes instead of disease-causing species.[ii] The oral research presentation, delivered by Ondine’s Director of Research and Development, Dr. Caetano Sabino, reported results from an exploratory study involving 35 healthy volunteers, examining the responses of the nasal microbial population after Steriwave treatment.

Organized by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, SPIE Photonics West is the largest annual event for optic and photonic technologies and one of the world’s largest scientific conferences. Ondine’s oral presentation, titled “Microbiome Analysis of Photodynamic Nasal Decolonization,” was delivered at 10:20am on Tuesday 30 January, as part of the “Photonic Diagnosis, Monitoring, Prevention, and Treatment of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases” session.

DeGruttola AK, Low D, Mizoguchi A, Mizoguchi E. Current understanding of dysbiosis in disease in human and animal models. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2016; 22: 1137-1150.

[1] The nasal microbiome consists of a complex community of microorganisms – fungi, parasites, viruses, and bacteria – that can act in a symbiotic relationship in the nasal cavity.

[i] Baede VO, Barray A, Tavakol M, Lina G, Vos MC, Rasigade JP. Nasal microbiome disruption and recovery after mupirocin treatment in Staphylococcus aureus carriers and noncarriers. Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 17;12(1):19738. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-21453-4. PMID: 36396730; PMCID: PMC9671894.

[ii] Cho I, Blaser MJ. The human microbiome: At the interface of health and disease. Nat Rev Genet. 2012; 13: 260.

Arrieta M-C, Stiemsma LT, Amenyogbe N, Brown EM, Finlay B. The intestinal microbiome in early life: Health and disease. Front Immunol. 2014; 5: 427.