International Journal of Nanomedicine (Mar 2023)
Ag/Ag2O with NIR-Triggered Antibacterial Activities: Photocatalytic Sterilization Enhanced by Low-Temperature Photothermal Effect
Abstract
Ruojing Qian,1– 3,* Zhaoyu Xu,4,* Xingyu Hu,1– 3 Suru Liu,1– 3 Yao Mai,1– 3 Xinzhi Tan,1– 3 Xiaofan Su,1– 3 Mingyan Jiang,1– 3 Wei Tang,1– 3 Weidong Tian,1– 3 Li Xie1– 3 1State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & National Engineering Laboratory for Oral Regenerative Medicine, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Engineering Research Center of Oral Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Oral Implantology, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Weidong Tian; Li Xie, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Engineering Research Center of Oral Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education & National Engineering Laboratory for Oral Regenerative Medicine, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-28-85502156 ; +86-28-85503499, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: A synergistic antibacterial system employing photocatalytic performance and low-temperature photothermal effect (LT-PTT) with the potential for infectious skin wound healing promotion was developed.Methods: Ag/Ag2O was synthesized with a two-step method, and its physicochemical properties were characterized. After its photocatalytic performance and photothermal effect were evaluated under 0.5 W/cm2 808 nm NIR laser irradiation, its antibacterial activities in both planktonic and biofilm forms were then studied in vitro targeting Staphylococcus Aureus (S. aureus), and the biocompatibility was tested with L-929 cell lines afterward. Finally, the animal model of dorsal skin wound infection was established on Sprague-Dawley rats and was used to assess infectious wound healing promotion of Ag/Ag2O in vivo.Results: Ag/Ag2O showed boosted photocatalytic performance and local temperature accumulation compared with Ag2O when exposed to 0.5 W/cm2 808 nm NIR irradiation, which therefore endowed Ag/Ag2O with the ability to kill pathogens rapidly and cleavage bacterial biofilm in vitro. Furthermore, after treatment with Ag/Ag2O and 0.5 W/cm2 808 nm NIR irradiation, infectious wounds of rats realized skin tissue regeneration from a histochemical level.Conclusion: By exhibiting excellent NIR-triggered photocatalytic sterilization ability enhanced by low-temperature photothermal effect, Ag/Ag2O was promising to be a novel, photo-responsive antibacterial agent.Keywords: semiconductor/metal hybrid, antibacterial agent, photo-responsive antibacterial activity, reactive oxygen species, infectious wound skin model