Multifunctional tadpole-like bimetallic nanoparticles realizes synergistic sterilization with chemical kinetics and photothermal therapy

Bacterial infection has become a global health issue. The misuse of antibiotics has been resulting in increased drug resistance and bioaccumulation. Therefore, developing a highly safe antibacterial agent, with high antibacterial performance is demanding. Inspired by the natural motors performing automated tasks in complicated living environments, we demonstrate tadpole-like nanoparticles (TNPs) with several functions, including high photothermal conversion efficiency, peroxidase-like catalytic activity, glutathione peroxidase-like activity, and catalase-like activity.

TNPs produce hydroxyl radical (•OH) at an extremely low concentration of hydrogen peroxide of 0.006%, which can damage bacterial cell membranes, proteins, and DNA. Moreover, the glutathione peroxidase-like activity disrupts the anti-oxidative mechanism of bacteria and improves the permeability of the cell membranes, consequently enhancing the killing effect of ROS.

In addition, TNPs possess tadpole-like asymmetry to overcome Brownian motion, demonstrating strong directional motion propelled by O2. The in vivo experiments indicate that TNPs could also shorten the inflammatory period and promote angiogenesis, making them a very promising antibacterial agent.