AUTHOR=Ren Junyu , Da Junlong , Wu Wei , Zheng Ce , Hu Narisu 

TITLE=Niobium carbide–mediated photothermal therapy for infected wound treatment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.934981

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.934981

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>Bacterial infections of the wounds on the skin surface significantly reduce the rate of wound healing, potentially leading to serious systemic infections. Antibiotics are the first-line drugs for the treatment of these infections. However, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics have led to the emergence of bacterial resistance. Therefore, a new antimicrobial strategy is urgently needed. Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a novel efficient therapeutic technique that can produce irreversible cell damage to induce death of bacteria, possessing a great potential in infected wound healing. This work describes the use of a new photothermal agent (PTA) such as niobium carbide (NbC) nanoparticles with outstanding near-infrared (NIR) absorption property. NbC nanoparticles converted NIR laser irradiation energy into localized heat for photothermal treatment. <italic>In vitro</italic> antimicrobial experiments have revealed that NbC nanoparticles exert excellent antimicrobial effects against <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> (<italic>S. aureus</italic>) and <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> (<italic>E. coli</italic>). Moreover, NbC nanoparticles accelerated <italic>E. coli</italic>–infected wound healing process, reduced inflammatory response, and showed good biosafety <italic>in vivo</italic>. Altogether, NbC nanoparticles represent an efficient PTA for antimicrobial treatment and are a bio-safe material with low toxicity <italic>in vivo</italic>.</p>