Fabrication of hierarchical 3D Ag/Bi2S3 nanoflowers for antibacterial application

Bacterial drug resistance caused by the abuse of antibiotics poses a serious threat to human health. Thus, the development of alternative strategies for the replacing of antibiotics is necessary. Herein, a hierarchical three-dimensional Bi2S3 (BS) nanoflowers were facile fabricated and employed as supporter for the growth of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). Combining the excellent antimicrobial activity of Ag NPs, the as-resulted Ag/BS exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria. Investigation on antibacterial mechanism revealed the treatment of Ag/BS damages the bacterial cell membrane, leading to the loss of intracellular substances. The compromised membrane caused the reduction of membrane bound enzymes activity, resulting in the arrest of metabolic activity. Simultaneously, Ag/BS broke the bacterial antioxidant defense system by raising the intracellular ROS levels, caused the oxidative damage, resulting in the loss of bacterial viability. Moreover, the satisfactory biocompatibility and effective antibacterial performance of Ag/BS were confirmed by performing in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo antibacterial assay. Accordingly, this work opens up possibility for the construction of Bi2S3 based multifunctional nanomaterials and its application for pathogenic bacteria control. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.