System and method for inactivating microorganisms with a femtosecond laser

摘要

The invention relates to a method of inactivating or diminishing the activity of microorganisms and an apparatus implementing that method. Microorganism activity is diminished through exciting the vibrational state of a microorganism with pulses of radiation femtoseconds in width. The wavelength of the pulses is in a range of the electromagnetic spectrum to which water is substantially transparent such as visible light. The pulses cause the microorganisms to vibrate such that their activities become diminished. A laser produces the pulses. A harmonic generator then acts upon the pulses to produce a scattering effect that is used to irradiate the microorganisms. One such laser is a titanium sapphire laser. One example of a harmonic generator is a nonlinear crystal such as a BBO crystal. The apparatus may also have a focusing lens such as a microscope objective that focuses the beam on a microorganism. The invention is effective for the inactivation of viruses or bacteria. The present invention may be utilized in order for extracting nucleic acid from microorganisms. The invention may be used in the manufacturing of vaccines. The invention enables the selective inactivation of target viruses and bacteria without causing cytotoxicity in mammalian cells.