Metal–organic framework-based heterojunctions in antibacterial therapy: structural design, synergistic mechanisms, and emerging applications

Bacterial infections and antimicrobial resistance continue to create an urgent need for effective, durable and safe antibacterial materials. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as versatile antibacterial platforms owing to their tunable structures, high porosity, accessible active sites and diverse chemical functionalities. However, individual MOFs may be limited by insufficient light utilization, rapid charge-carrier recombination and inadequate stability under practical conditions. Constructing MOF-based heterojunctions provides a promising strategy for regulating charge transfer, broadening light absorption and integrating multiple antibacterial functions within a single platform. This Review summarizes the antibacterial mechanisms of MOFs and MOF-based systems, including metal-ion release, direct contact activity, reactive oxygen species generation, controlled delivery of antibacterial molecules and multimodal synergistic effects. We further discuss the photocatalytic principles, heterojunction configurations, fabrication strategies, single-atom-site engineering and defect engineering used to regulate antibacterial performance, together with representative applications in infected-wound treatment, tissue regeneration, drug-resistant bacterial control, water disinfection and biofilm-associated infections. Finally, we outline the major challenges and future research directions and propose application-oriented design guidelines for selecting MOF platforms, metal nodes, heterojunction configurations, activation sources and fabrication routes while balancing antibacterial efficacy with biosafety. This Review provides a general framework for the rational development and practical application of antibacterial MOF-based heterojunctions.