Abstract
The spectre of antimicrobial resistance looms very large indeed in the 21st century; the supply of efficacious conventional drugs is short and not guaranteed, for various reasons. It is time to look elsewhere for answers and for protocols which might be used in tandem with our diminishing arsenal in order to protect vital drugs. This could bridge the gap before new development in conventional antimicrobial therapy occurs, or might be a longer-term solution, particularly in the area of infectious disease prophylaxis (conventional-sensitive or -resistant). Reliable and safe protocols have been developed for the use of photoantimicrobials in this respect, offering much greater coverage, in terms of the microbial target, than Fleming ever imagined.