Surface-Adaptive and Initiator-Loaded Graphene as a Light-Induced Generator with Free Radicals for Drug-Resistant Bacteria Eradication.

Since generating toxic reactive oxygen (ROS) is largely dependent on oxygen, bacteria infected wounds hypoxia significantly inhibits photodynamic therapy's (PDT) antibacterial efficiency. Therefore, a novel therapeutic method for eradicating multidrug-resistant bacteria is developed based on the light-activated alkyl free radical generation (that is oxygen-independent). According to the polydopamine coated carboxyl graphene (PDA@CG), an initiator-loaded and pH-sensitive heat-producible hybrid of bactericides was synthesized. According to fluorescence/thermal imaging, under the low pH of the bacterial infection sites, this platform turned positively charged, which allows their accumulation in local infection site. The plasmonic heating effects of PDA@CG can make the initiator decomposed to generate alkyl radical (R•) under the followed near-infrared light (NIR) irradiation. As a result, oxidative-stress (OS) can be elevated, DNA damages in bacteria can be caused, and finally the bacteria even the multidrug-resistance death can be caused under different oxygen tensions. Moreover, our bactericidal could promote wound healing in vivo and negligible toxicity in vivo and in vitro and eliminate abscess. Accordingly, the researcher proves that combination oxygen-independent free radical based therapy along with a stimulus-responsiveness moiety not only can be used as an effective treatment of the multidrug-resistant bacteria infection, but also creates a use of a variety of free radicals for multidrug-resistant bacteria infection wounds treatment.