AUTHOR=Obeng Enoch , Feng Jiayao , Wang Danyan , Zheng Dongyang , Xiang Bailin , Shen Jianliang TITLE=Multifunctional phototheranostic agent ZnO@Ag for anti-infection through photothermal/photodynamic therapy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2022.1054739 DOI=10.3389/fchem.2022.1054739 ISSN=2296-2646 ABSTRACT=

To overcome the limitations of traditional therapeutics, nanotechnology offers a synergistic therapeutic approach for the treatment of bacterial infection and biofilms that has attracted attention. Herein, we report on a ZnO@Ag nanocomposite with good biocompatibility synthesized by doping ZnO NPs with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). ZnO@Ag nanocomposites were synthesized with varying ratios of Ag NPs (0.5%, 2%, 8%). Under the same experimental conditions, ZnO@8%Ag exhibited outstanding properties compared to the other nanocomposites and the pristine ZnO NPs. ZnO@8%Ag demonstrated excellent photothermal and photodynamic properties. Also, ZnO@8%Ag demonstrated over 99% inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) under photothermal therapy (PTT) or photodynamics therapy (PDT) as a result of the excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the Ag+ released, while the pristine ZnO showed an insignificant inhibition rate compared to the PBS group (control). Furthermore, ZnO@8%Ag completely disrupted S. aureus biofilm under a combined PTT/PDT treatment, a synergetic trimodal therapy, although the molecular mechanism of biofilm inhibition remains unclear. Hence, the excellent photothermal, photodynamic, biocompatibility, and bactericidal properties of ZnO@8%Ag present it as an appropriate platform for bacterial and biofilm treatment or other biomedically related applications.