Quercetin Nanoarchitectures with Dual Bioactivity: Synergistic Antioxidant and Antibacterial Efficacy

Quercetin (QT), a naturally flavonoid compound, demonstrates potent antioxidant capacity and diverse bioactivities.However, its pharmaceutical utilization is substantially constrained by intrinsic physicochemical limitations, including aqueous insolubility, low systemic bioavailability, and chemical lability.To address these challenges, this study developed multifunctional nanoparticles (QT-TA-ZA NSs) through ultrasonic self-assembly and zinc ion-mediated crosslinking strategies utilizing QT, tannic acid (TA), and zinc acetate (ZA).Characterization data revealed that the optimized QT-TA-ZA NSs exhibited the particle size of 200.9 3.6 nm with high encapsulation efficiencies of 87.47 0.35% for QT and 81.24 0.43% for TA.The QT-TA-ZA NSs demonstrated pH-responsive release kinetics, achieving cumulative release rates of 68.73% (QT) and 73.91% (TA) at pH 4.8 over 24 h.Synergistic radical scavenging capabilities against DPPH, ABTS + , and hydroxyl radicals were observed, attributable to the antioxidant-rich phenolic hydroxyl networks within the QT-TA-ZA architecture.More significantly, QT-TA-ZA NSs exhibited outstanding antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.This work pioneers a nanoarchitectonics strategy to overcome QT's bioavailability barriers while integrating multifunctionality.The demonstrated pH-modulated drug release, ROS-scavenging capacity, and concentration-dependent bactericidal effects validate their translational potential in targeted antimicrobial therapies and oxidative stress mitigation.