A pH‐Responsive, Surface Charge‐Switchable Nanosystem with Enhanced Biofilm Penetration for Synergistic Photodynamic and Antibiotic Therapy of Diabetic Wounds
Abstract Chronic wounds, particularly those associated with diabetes, pose a significant clinical challenge due to their tendency to develop biofilms that resist conventional antibiotic treatments. To address this issue, a novel therapeutic strategy utilizing pH‐responsive nanoparticles loaded with aggregation‐induced emission photosensitizers and natural saturated fatty acids (AIE/LA@HMONs−PyB) for effective biofilm penetration and disruption is proposed. Under physiological conditions, AIE/LA@HMONs−PyB are negatively charged. Upon accumulation at infected sites, however, the pyridine betaine group on the surface of AIE/LA@HMONs−PyB enables rapid protonation and charge reversal in the acidic biofilm microenvironment, thereby enhancing their ability to penetrate the biofilm. Upon light irradiation, these nanoparticles generate reactive oxygen species that effectively disrupt the biofilm structure. This process enables the synergistic action of ciprofloxacin at a lower concentration, achieving an exceptional in vitro antibacterial efficiency of 99.99% against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) biofilms. Furthermore, in an in vivo diabetic wound model, this synergistic therapy accelerates wound healing by reducing inflammation, promoting angiogenesis, and enhancing collagen regeneration. The enhanced penetration strategy significantly improves the therapeutic efficacy of this combined approach, offering great promise for advancing chronic wound healing and enhancing patient outcomes.
Authors
- Chunlei Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2477-306X)
- Linqi Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9534-795X)
- Minghui Xiao
- Shuyi Lv
- Hao Fu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0121-0248)
- Cheng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8482-1134)
- Zhencheng Sun
- Liang Tian
Institutions
- Nankai University (CN)
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2024-12-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202418711
- Citations
- 22
- Primary Topic
- Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.06
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences