Nanozymes that mimic peroxidase (POD) activity can convert H2O2 into bactericidal free radicals, which is referred to as chemodynamic therapy (CDT). High glutathione (GSH) levels in the infectious tissue severely limit the performance of CDT. Herein, we report a near-infrared-controlled antibacterial nanoplatform that is based on encapsulating tungsten sulfide quantum dots (WS2QDs) and the antibiotic vancomycin in a thermal-sensitive liposome. The system exploits the photothermal sensitivity of the WS2QDs to achieve selective liposome rupture for the targeted drug delivery. We determined that WS2QDs show a strong POD-like activity under physiological conditions and the oxidase-like activity, which can oxidate GSH to further improve the CDT efficacy. Moreover, we found that increased temperature promotes multiple enzyme-mimicking activities of WS2QDs. This platform exerts antibacterial effects against Gram-positive Mu50 (a vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus reference strain) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli and disrupts biofilms for improved penetration of therapeutic agents inside biofilms. In vivo studies with mice bearing Mu50-caused skin abscess revealed that this platform confers potent antibacterial activity without obvious toxicity. Accordingly, our work illustrates that the photothermal and nanozyme properties of WS2QDs can be deployed alongside a conventional therapeutic to achieve synergistic chemodynamic/photothermal/pharmaco therapy for powerful antibacterial effects.
Keywords: Mu50-caused skin abscess; chemodynamic therapy (CDT); nanozymes; photothermal therapy (PTT); tungsten sulfide quantum dots (WS2QDs).