Synergistic Chemical and Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy for Enhanced Wound Healing Mediated by Multifunctional Light-Responsive Nanoparticles

Abstract

Recently, rapid acquisition of antibiotic resistance, increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and slow healing of infected wound lead to vast difficulties in developing innovative antimicrobial agent to obliterate pathogenic bacteria and simultaneously accelerate wound healing. To effectively solve this problem, we designed light-responsive multifunctional nanoparticles with conjugation of quaternary ammonium chitosan and photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) to merge chemical and photodynamic therapy to efficient anti-bacteria. Mg/EGCG complex rapidly responded to the light irradiation under 660 nm with accordingly magnesium ions release, which effectively accelerated wound healing without toxicity to mammalian cells. Notably, positively charged nanoparticles could efficiently adhere to the bacterial surface, reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced under laser irradiation destroyed the membrane structure of the bacteria, which is irreversible, ultimately leading to bacteria death. Thus, the multifunctional nanoparticles with combination of chemical and photodynamic antimicrobial therapy would offer guidance to rational predicted and designed new effective antimicrobial nanomaterials. Most importantly, it may represent a promising class of antimicrobial strategy for potential clinical translation.