Synergistic photothermal effect and nanoenzyme for efficient antibacterial activity

The continuous emergence of drug-resistant bacteria has become a serious threat to human and animal health. Developing new non-antibiotic therapeutic drugs with high efficiency and low resistance is a promising strategy for combating drug-resistant bacteria. Here, a novel composite structure based on a hollow metal-organic framework (MOF) wrapped Au nanorod and loaded Pt nanoparticles (Au NR@H-ZIF-8@Pt) is designed for combating drug-resistant bacteria. The Au NR@H-ZIF-8@Pt composite structures serve a twofold purpose: (1) showing superior photothermal conversion efficiency under near-infrared light irradiation, thus achieving an antibacterial effect based on photothermal effect, and (2) exhibiting high-efficiency peroxidase-like activity, and effectively killing bacteria by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated in situ. By combining photothermal and catalytic effects for in vitro antibacterial experiments, Au NR@H-ZIF-8@Pt exhibits efficient, rapid, broad-spectrum antibacterial activity (99.7% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 98.3% for Staphylococcus aureus). In addition, in vivo experiments further demonstrate the advantages of the material in promoting bacterial infection wound healing. This study not only facilitates the design of novel biological nanomaterials, but also provides new ideas for combating drug-resistant bacteria.