Regulation of Antimicrobial Effect of Hemicyanine-Based Photosensitizer via Supramolecular Assembly

Abstract

An intelligent “antimicrobial switch” has been constructed to reduce prolonged exposure of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics, which could reversibly “turn off” or “turn on” the antimicrobial activity of hemicyanines through self-assembly or dis-assembly of cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]). This assembly effectively inhibited the production of ROS under light, shielding the active site of hemicyanines and achieving on-demand antimicrobial ability. Moreover, CB[7] differentially inhibits ROS of molecules with different alkyl chain lengths, which provided reference for the subsequent design of materials with antimicrobial activity regulation, and could effectively delay or even prevent the development of pathogens resistance.

Supramolecular Switch for the Regulation of Antibacterial Efficacy of Near-Infrared Photosensitizer

“…The addition of competitive molecules (amantadine, AD) forms a more stable CB7/AD complex, effectively restoring the photodynamic antibacterial activity of PPV. In 2022, Qi’s group constructed a hemicyanine supramolecular assembly between hemicyanines and CB7, and also achieved a reversible “switching off” or “switching on” of hemicyanine’s photodynamic antibacterial activity through supramolecular self-assembly or disassembly [ 33 ]. Supramolecular encapsulation by CB7 has been demonstrated as a straightforward and efficacious strategy for the modulation of antibacterial activity in antibiotics [ 34 , 35 ].…”