Tuberculosis (TB) causes a global burden with its high rates of infection and death, especially the irrepressible threats of latent infection and drug resistance. Therefore, it is important to construct efficient theranostics for the prevention and control of TB. Herein, we created a targeted theranostic strategy for TB with a rifampicin-loaded aggregation-induced emission (AIE) carrier and performed testing in laboratory animals. The AIE carrier was constructed to localize in the granulomas and emit fluorescent signals at the early stage of infection, enabling the early diagnosis of TB. Subsequently, reactive oxygen species (ROS) were generated to eradicate infection, and the loaded rifampicin (RIF) was released for the synergistic treatment of persistent bacteria. Furthermore, targeted TB therapy was performed with the light-controlled release of ROS and accurate delivery of RIF, which realizes an antiinfection effect, providing an especially important treatment for drug-resistant TB. Thus, targeted theranostics for TB in laboratory animals possess the potential to become granulomas-tracking and anti-infection strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of TB.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is continually worsening. Clinical treatment for COVID‐19 remains primarily supportive with no specific medicines or regimens. Here, the development of multifunctional alveolar macrophage (AM)‐like nanoparticles (NPs) with photothermal inactivation capability for COVID‐19 treatment is reported. The NPs, made by wrapping polymeric cores with AM membranes, display the same surface receptors as AMs, including the coronavirus receptor and multiple cytokine receptors. By acting as AM decoys, the NPs block coronavirus from host cell entry and absorb various proinflammatory cytokines, thus achieving combined antiviral and anti‐inflammatory treatment. To enhance the antiviral efficiency, an efficient photothermal material based on aggregation‐induced emission luminogens is doped into the NPs for virus photothermal disruption under near‐infrared (NIR) irradiation. In a surrogate mouse model of COVID‐19 caused by murine coronavirus, treatment with multifunctional AM‐like NPs with NIR irradiation decreases virus burden and cytokine levels, reduces lung damage and inflammation, and confers a significant survival advantage to the infected mice. Crucially, this therapeutic strategy may be clinically applied for the treatment of COVID‐19 at early stage through atomization inhalation of the NPs followed by NIR irradiation of the respiratory tract, thus alleviating infection progression and reducing transmission risk.

No abstract