Cascade Radical Storm Triggered by Adaptive AIE Photosensitizer for Hypoxia Alleviation and Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy of Drug‐Resistant Bacteria

ABSTRACT Traditional type I photodynamic therapy (PDT) is limited in treating bacterial infections because hypoxic conditions at the lesion site and the barrier effect of the high‐viscosity extracellular polymeric matrix within biofilms significantly reduce its antibacterial efficacy. To address this challenge, we propose an adaptive aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) photosensitizer, DTPy‐Bio, based on a synergistic cation‐biotin molecular engineering strategy. This photosensitizer not only exhibits outstanding photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer and charge separation, enabling efficient generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under illumination, but its aggregates also demonstrate excellent semiconductor‐like behavior. This allows it to generate oxygen in situ via water oxidation under hypoxic conditions and further triggers a cascade of electron transfer to form a radical storm that achieves highly efficient killing of drug‐resistant bacteria. Notably, DTPy‐Bio exhibits significant viscosity‐responsive properties, and its photosensitization activity is further enhanced in high‐viscosity biofilm microenvironments, demonstrating excellent microenvironmental adaptability. The experimental results showed that DTPy‐Bio achieved an antibacterial rate of 94.46% against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) and promoted exceptional wound healing in infected wound models. This study provides an innovative approach for developing novel, highly efficient type I photosensitizers with microenvironmental adaptability, offering a new strategy to overcome treatment challenges associated with bacterial biofilms.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-06-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.76674
Primary Topic
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Cascade Radical Storm Triggered by Adaptive AIE Photosensitizer for Hypoxia Alleviation and Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy of Drug‐Resistant Bacteria

Li K, Chunhui Dai, Congbin Fan, Guanming Liao et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
article

Cascade Radical Storm Triggered by Adaptive AIE Photosensitizer for Hypoxia Alleviation and Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy of Drug‐Resistant Bacteria

Li K, Chunhui Dai, Congbin Fan, Guanming Liao, Ming Zhang, Ying Liu, W W Wang, Yan Lin, Xiaomei Huang, Ben Zhong Tang, Yuewen Yu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Traditional type I photodynamic therapy (PDT) is limited in treating bacterial infections because hypoxic conditions at the lesion site and the barrier effect of the high‐viscosity extracellular polymeric matrix within biofilms significantly reduce its antibacterial efficacy. To address this challenge, we propose an adaptive aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) photosensitizer, DTPy‐Bio, based on a synergistic cation‐biotin molecular engineering strategy. This photosensitizer not only exhibits outstanding photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer and charge separation, enabling efficient generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under illumination, but its aggregates also demonstrate excellent semiconductor‐like behavior. This allows it to generate oxygen in situ via water oxidation under hypoxic conditions and further triggers a cascade of electron transfer to form a radical storm that achieves highly efficient killing of drug‐resistant bacteria. Notably, DTPy‐Bio exhibits significant viscosity‐responsive properties, and its photosensitization activity is further enhanced in high‐viscosity biofilm microenvironments, demonstrating excellent microenvironmental adaptability. The experimental results showed that DTPy‐Bio achieved an antibacterial rate of 94.46% against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) and promoted exceptional wound healing in infected wound models. This study provides an innovative approach for developing novel, highly efficient type I photosensitizers with microenvironmental adaptability, offering a new strategy to overcome treatment challenges associated with bacterial biofilms.

Advanced Functional Materials
Nanjing Forestry University (CN), Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University (CN), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CN), East China University of Technology (CN), Nanjing Medical University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.