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=Volume 10 - 2022

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 has presented a synergistic therapeutic approach for the treatment of bacterial infection and biofilms which has widely 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 was synthesized with varying ratios of Ag NPs (0.5%, 2%, 8%). However, 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) treatment as a result of the excessive generations of 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, 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.