Selective photonic disinfection (SEPHODIS) is an

ultrashort pulse laser An ultrashort pulse laser is a laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light, generally of the order of femtoseconds to one picosecond. They are also known as ultrafast lasers owing to the speed at which pulses "turn on" and "off"—not to be confuse ...

technology invented by Tsen and colleagues to combat

pathogens In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

including

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

and

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

.ScienceDaily: Laser Blasts Viruses in Blood
/ref>
/ref>Discover Magazine: Zapping HIV with lasers
/ref>
/ref> SEPHODIS uses extremely brief pulses of light to destroy viral capsids while minimizing collateral damage to

human cells There are many different types of cells in the human body. Cells derived primarily from endoderm Exocrine secretory epithelial cells * Brunner's gland cell in duodenum (enzymes and alkaline mucus) *Insulated goblet cell of respiratory and ...

and

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

. The technology is being developed as a defense system to rapidly produce

vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and pro ...

against emerging pathogens, and as a method to safeguard the

blood supply The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

.Tsen Technologies
/ref>

References

Experimental medical treatments