ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Ali Yadollahpour, Mostafa Jalilifar and Samaneh Rashidi
1Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2014;8(5):4031-4043
© The Author(s). 2014
Received: 18/02/2014 | Accepted: 21/04/2014 | Published: 31/10/2014
Abstract

Considering the worldwide emergence of antibiotics resistance, developing non-drug antimicrobial and antibacterial treatments are necessary. Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have shown antimicrobial effects in different frequencies and intensities. So far, different modalities of EMFs showed antimicrobial and antibacterial effects in different pathogens. Electric fields, magnetic fields and pulsed EMFs (PEMFs) are common techniques showing promising antimicrobial effects. Despite the various studies indicating the antimicrobial effects of EMFs, the mechanisms of actions of them are not yet completely understood. The present study reviews the most current techniques of EMFs in antimicrobial studies and mechanisms of actions of these methods. Systematic review of studies published on the antimicrobial effects of EMFs in PubMed and Medline is performed. The efficacy of each technique and mechanisms of action were reviewed. Static magnetic field and PEMFs show promising antimicrobial effects for some of common bacterial pathogens. These treatments can be developed as alternative or at least as an adjunctive treatment for some infectious diseases and wound. Further controlled studies are needed to develop new techniques based on EMFs for microbial infections.

Keywords

Antibacterial Effects, Electromagnetic Fields, Mechanism of Action, Antimicrobial Effects, Treatment

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