Two-dimensional ultrathin vanadium oxide nanosheets as catalytic bactericide

Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria are a serious threat to global public health. Nowadays, antibiotics and other clinical drugs suffer from some fundamental disadvantages such as narrow-spectrum antibacterial effect and the risk to induce drug resistance, while inorganic functional nanomaterials with biological catalytic activities have been developed as novel antibacterial agents. In this study, we prepared two-dimensional ultrathin vanadium oxide nanosheets (VOx NSs) with mixed valence states from the oxidised layer of vanadium powder (bulk V) by ultrasonically assisted liquid exfoliation. By conveniently switching between V-IV and V-V, VOx NSs can efficiently catalyse H2O2 enriched in bacterially infected areas to generate hydroxyl radicals (<middle dot>OH), which induce bacterial oxidative stress and apoptosis. This process can occur in both weakly alkaline and acidic environments, thus being independent of the pH value in infection areas. In addition, contributed by the intrinsic characteristics of vanadium, two-dimensional morphology and reasonable valence state ratios, VOx NSs exhibit the advantages of broad antibacterial spectrum, high catalytic activity and non-toxic by-products. This novel nanosheet offers a new strategy to heal infected wounds and extends the application of nanocatalytic medicine towards anti-infection.