Accelerated antibacterial red-carbon dots with photodynamic therapy against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Sci China Mater. 2022;65(3):845-854. doi: 10.1007/s40843-021-1770-0. Epub 2021 Sep 23.

Abstract

The emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a major public-health issue. Synthesis of efficient antibiotic-free material is very important for fighting bacterial infection-related diseases. Herein, red-carbon dots (R-CDs) with a broad range of spectral absorption (350-700 nm) from organic bactericides or intermediates were synthesized through a solvothermal route. The prepared R-CDs not only had intrinsic antibacterial activities, but also could kill multidrug-resistant bacteria (multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB) and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)) effectively by generating reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, R-CDs could eliminate and inhibit the formation of MRAB biofilms, while conferring few side effects on normal cells. A unique property of R-CDs was demonstrated upon in vivo treatment of antibiotic-sensitive MRAB-induced infected wounds. These data suggested that this novel R-CDs-based strategy might enable the design of next-generation agents to fight drug-resistant bacteria.

Electronic supplementary material: Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.1007/s40843-021-1770-0 and is accessible for authorized users.

细菌对抗生素产生耐药性是引起公共卫生问题的主要因素. 高效无抗生素杀菌剂对抗细菌感染相关疾病具有重要意义. 本文采用溶剂热法, 以有机杀菌剂或合成杀菌剂中间体为碳源, 合成了具有宽吸收 (350–700 nm)范围的红色荧光发射碳点(R-CDs). 所合成的R-CDs不仅具有固有的抗菌活性, 还可以通过590 nm光激发产生活性氧(ROS)有效杀死多耐药细菌(多耐药鲍曼不动杆菌(MRAB)和多耐药金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)). 此外, R-CDs可有效消除MRAB表面生物膜并进一步抑制其再生能力, 能够加速由细菌感染的伤口愈合速度, 而对正常细胞的副 作用很小. 因此, 这种非抗生素为碳源的碳点合成新策略为下一代抗耐药细菌药物的设计提供了参考.

Keywords: MRAB biofilm eradication; antibiotic-free materials; carbon dots; intrinsic antibacterial activities.