A multifunctional upconverting nanoparticle incorporated polycationic hydrogel for near-infrared triggered and synergistic treatment of drug-resistant bacteria

• Published in: Nanotechnology Vol. 27; no. 12; pp. 125601 - 125607
• Main Authors: Yin, Meili, Li, Zhenhua, Zhou, Li, Dong, Kai, Ren, Jinsong, Qu, Xiaogang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England IOP Publishing 29.03.2016
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemical synthesis; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Bacteria; Chitosan; Chitosan - chemistry; Drug Resistance, Bacterial - drug effects; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Hydrogels; Hydrogels - chemical synthesis; Hydrogels - chemistry; Hydrogels - pharmacology; Kanamycin - pharmacology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microorganisms; multifunctional upconverting nanoparticle; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - ultrastructure; near-infrare; Oxacillin - pharmacology; Photosensitizing Agents - chemical synthesis; Photosensitizing Agents - chemistry; Photosensitizing Agents - pharmacology; resistant bacteria therapy; Silicon dioxide; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; synergistic treatment; Therapy
• ISSN: 0957-4484; 1361-6528
• DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/27/12/125601

Recently, antibiotic drug-resistant therapies have become very important due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. The development of novel antibacterial materials has received significant attention. Here, quaternized chitosan hydrogels incorporated with NaYF4:Er/Yb/Mn@photosensitizer-doped silica (UCNPs/MB) were synthesized for effective killing of both gram-positive oxacillin-resistant S. aureus (DR-S. aureus) and gram-negative kanamyclin-resistant E. coli (DR-E. coli) bacteria upon near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. In this system, the cationic macroporous nature of the hydrogel acts as a molecular 'anion sponge', which sucks the outer part of the anionic microbe membrane into the gel interior voids and causes microbe membrane disruption. By incorporating UCNPs/MB-doped silica into the hydrogel, we have combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) with quaternized chitosan to obtain a high therapeutic index via a synergistic effect. In vitro experiments have demonstrated that our system had excellent antibacterial efficiency to both DR-S. aureus and DR-E. coli bacteria. More importantly, our new synergistic treatment modality provided an excellent therapy platform for drug-resistant bacteria, which could improve antimicrobial efficiency.