Janus nanoparticles targeting extracellular polymeric substance achieve flexible elimination of drug-resistant biofilms

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 5132
• Main Authors: Liu, Zhiwen, Guo, Kangli, Yan, Liemei, Zhang, Kai, Wang, Ying, Ding, Xiaokang, Zhao, Nana, Xu, Fu-Jian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 23-08-2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 140/131; 147/135; 147/143; 631/61/350/354; 639/301/357/354; 639/638/298/54/990; Antibacterial materials; Bacteria; Biocompatibility; Biofilms; Bismuth; Dextran; Dextrans; Dispersion; Drug development; Drug resistance; Fabrication; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Near infrared radiation; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Selenide; Synergistic effect
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40830-9

Safe and efficient antibacterial materials are urgently needed to combat drug-resistant bacteria and biofilm-associated infections. The rational design of nanoparticles for flexible elimination of biofilms remains challenging. Herein, we propose the fabrication of Janus-structured nanoparticles targeting extracellular polymeric substance to achieve dispersion or near-infrared (NIR) light-activated photothermal elimination of drug-resistant biofilms, respectively. Asymmetrical Janus-structured dextran-bismuth selenide (Dex-BSe) nanoparticles are fabricated to exploit synergistic effects of both components. Interestingly, Janus Dex-BSe nanoparticles realize enhanced dispersal of biofilms over time. Alternatively, taking advantage of the preferential accumulation of nanoparticles at infection sites, the self-propelled active motion induced by the unique Janus structure enhances photothermal killing effect. The flexible application of Janus Dex-BSe nanoparticles for biofilm removal or NIR-triggered eradication in vivo is demonstrated by
Staphylococcus aureus
-infected mouse excisional wound model and abscess model, respectively. The developed Janus nanoplatform holds great promise for the efficient elimination of drug-resistant biofilms in diverse antibacterial scenarios.
It is imperative but challenging to develop nanomaterials that can combat drug-resistant bacteria and biofilm related infections in diverse antibacterial scenarios. Here, the authors report Janus nanoparticles integrating biocompatible dextran and photothermal nanoparticles for biofilm-targeted antibacterial therapy to achieve effective and versatile elimination of drug-resistant biofilms.