Efficient Bacteria Killing by Cu 2 WS 4 Nanocrystals with Enzyme-like Properties and Bacteria-Binding Ability

• Published in: ACS nano Vol. 13; no. 12; pp. 13797 - 13808
• Main Authors: Shan, Jingyang, Li, Xiao, Yang, Kaili, Xiu, Weijun, Wen, Qirui, Zhang, Yuqian, Yuwen, Lihui, Weng, Lixing, Teng, Zhaogang, Wang, Lianhui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 24.12.2019
• Subjects: antibacterial activity; bacteria binding; nanozyme; Cu2WS4 nanocrystals; reactive oxygen species
• ISSN: 1936-0851; 1936-086X
• DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b03868

Antibacterial agents with high antibacterial efficiency and bacteria-binding capability are highly desirable. Herein, we describe the successful preparation of Cu WS nanocrystals (CWS NCs) with excellent antibacterial activity. CWS NCs with small size (∼20 nm) achieve more than 5 log (>99.999%) inactivation efficiency of both (Gram-positive) and (Gram-negative) at low concentration (<2 μg mL ) with or without ambient light, which is much better than most of the reported antibacterial nanomaterials (including Ag, TiO , .) and even better than the widely used antibiotics (vancomycin and daptomycin). Antibacterial mechanism study showed that CWS NCs have both enzyme-like (oxidase and peroxidase) properties and selective bacteria-binding ability, which greatly facilitate the production of reactive oxygen species to kill bacteria. Animal experiments further indicated that CWS NCs can effectively treat wounds infected with methicillin-resistant (MRSA). This work demonstrates that CWS NCs have the potential as effective antibacterial nanozymes for the treatment of bacterial infection.