The effects of visible light radiation (400-500 nm) on enzymatic activity of collagenase

Debridement is the process of removing necrotic burden or contaminated tissue from a wound bed until surrounding healthy tissue is exposed. Enzymatic debridement helps to remove non-viable tissue which can otherwise delay wound healing and lead to infection [1]. Collagenase enzyme is known to be able to promote cellular responses to injury and wound heal- ing in vivo. Collagenase shows more selectively on denatured collagen in devitalized tissue. This selectivity is bene¯cial as it keeps the vital tissue and growth factors crucial to wound healing intact. There are studies which have shown that applied electromagnetic radiation (EMR) in the visible light range can modulate protein and cellular activity. Here we validate experimentally the hypothesis of the Resonant Recognition Model (RRM) that selectivity of protein activities is based on speci¯c resonant electromagnetic interactions [2]. The computational analysis of 28 col- lagenase sequences was performed and the activation frequency/wavelength range was determined to be 450{460 nm. To evaluate this range, the Collagenase enzyme solutions were irradiated by monochromatic light of 400 to 500 nm. The kinetics of the chemical reaction was measured by continuous monitoring of the changes in absorbance of collagen at 570 nm. The results revealed that collagenase activity can be modulated at the particular wavelengths of 450 nm, 456 nm, and 460 nm, which is within the activation wavelength range de¯ned computationally. This ¯nding indicates that enzyme function can be modi¯ed by an applied electromagnetic radiation of de- ¯ned frequency, which may contribute to the development of a new clinical therapy for wound healing promotion.