ORIGINAL ARTICLE An improvement in acute wound healing in mice by the combined application of photobiomodulation and curcumin-loaded iron particles Ali Moradi 1 & Yashar Kheirollahkhani 2 & Payam Fatahi 2 & Mohammad-Amin Abdollahifar 1 & Abdollah Amini 1 & Parvaneh Naserzadeh 3 & Khadijah Ashtari 4,5,6 & Seyed Kamran Ghoreishi 7 & Sufan Chien 8 & Fatemehalsadat Rezaei 9 & Mohammadjavad Fridoni 10 & Mohammad Bagheri 2 & Sudabeh Taheri 11 & Mohammad Bayat 12,13 Received: 30 July 2018 /Accepted: 10 October 2018 # Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Here, we examined the combined effect of pulse wave photobiomodulation (PBM) with curcumin-loaded superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles (curcumin), in an experimental mouse model of acute skin wound. Thirty male adult mice were randomly allocated into 5 groups. Group 1 was served as the control group. Group 2 was a placebo and received distilled water, as a carrier of curcumin. Group 3 received laser (890 nm, 80 Hz, 0.2 J/cm 2 ). Group 4 received curcumin by taking four injections around the wound. Group 5 received laser + curcumin. One full-thickness excisional round wound was made on the back of all the mice. On days 0, 4, 7, and 14, bacterial flora, wound surface area, and tensile strength were examined and microbiological examinations were performed. In case of wound closure, the two-way ANOVA shows that wound surface area of entire groups decreased progressively. However, the decrease in laser + curcumin and laser groups, and especially data from laser + curcumin group were statistically more significant, in comparison with the other groups (F statistics = 2.28, sig = 0.019). In terms of microbiology, the two-way ANOVA showed that laser, and laser + curcumin groups have statistically a lower bacterial count than the curcumin, control, and carrier groups (F statistics = 35, sig = 0 = 000). Finally, the one-way ANOVA showed that laser + curcumin, curcumin, and curcumin significantly increased wound strength, compared to the control and carrier groups. Furthermore, laser + curcumin significantly increased wound strength, compared to the control, laser, and curcumin groups (LSD test, p = 0.003, p = 0.002, and p = 0.005, respectively). In conclusion, curcumin nanoparticles, pulse wave laser, and pulse wave laser + curcumin nanoparticles accelerate wound healing, through a significant increase in wound closure rate, as well as wound strength, and a significant decrease in Staphylococcus aureus counts. Furthermore, the statistical analysis of our data suggests that the combined treatment of pulse wave laser + curcumin nanoparticles enhances the wound closure rate, and wound strength, compared to the laser and curcumin nanoparticles alone. Keywords Acute wound healing . Photobiomodulation . Low-level laser therapy . Wound closure . Microbial flora . Tensiometrical properties . Mouse Introduction Complex and chronic non-healing skin injuries have been always a financial concern for patients, insurance companies, and governments, imposing worth of billions dollars cost per year, in North America alone [1]. These are a challenge for physicians, and deplete considerable health care resources around the world [2, 3]. Skin injury repair is a composite process [4]. Scientists have studied comprehensively the mechanisms of skin repair, but further studies needed to elucidate the detailed mechanism [4]. Restoration of skin after an injury remains an extensive challenge, due to the complex construct of skin and the presence of many variant cell types [5]. In spite of new progresses in wound care products, such as wound dressings, ointments and solutions, adhe- sive tapes, bandages, medication, gauze and sponges, and wound cleansers, the old-style treatments based on natural derivative mixtures, such as herbal extracts, still are a * Sufan Chien sufan.chien@louisville.edu * Mohammad Bayat mohbayat@sbmu.ac.ir; bayat_m@yahoo.com Extended author information available on the last page of the article Lasers in Medical Science https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-018-2664-9