Self-Propelled Active Photothermal Nanoswimmer for Deep-Layered Elimination of Biofilm In Vivo

Abstract

Increasing penetration of antibacterial agents into biofilm is a promising strategy for improvement of therapeutic effect and slowdown of the progression of antibiotic resistance. Herein, we design a near-infrared (NIR) light-driven nanoswimmer (HSMV). Under NIR light irradiation, HSMV performs efficient self-propulsion and penetrates into the biofilm within 5 min due to photothermal conversion of asymmetrically distributed AuNPs. The localized thermal (∼45 °C) and thermal-triggered release of vancomycin (Van) leads to an efficient combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in one system. The active motion of HSMV increases the effective distance of photothermal therapy (PTT) and also improves the therapeutic index of the antibiotic, resulting in superior biofilm removal rate (>90%) in vitro. Notably, HSMV can eliminate S. aureus biofilms grown in vivo under 10 min of laser irradiation without damage to healthy tissues. This work may shed light on therapeutic strategies for in vivo treatment of biofilm-associated infections.

Dual‐Propelled Lanbiotic Based Janus Micromotors for Selective Inactivation of Bacterial Biofilms

“…Yet, for static modified micromotors and since they are confined in a little area (i.e. do not move along the whole solution or exert the drag and catch effect), only a small region of the micromotor modified with Nisin interact with the bacteria, showing such lower deactivation effect in such a short time [21,29] . In the formation biofilms‐based experiments, biofilms are grown along with the micromotors for a long time, modified motors have more time for inactivation even though they are static [30] .…”

Combating Drug-Resistant Bacteria Using Photothermally Active Nanomaterials: A Perspective Review

“…Spurred by the successful photothermal bactericidal applications of Au, Ti, and Ce-based nanocomposites, nanoswimmers are being explored for in vivo deep-layer biofilm elimination considering their excellent self-propelling and penetrating abilities ( Cui et al, 2020 ). The NIR light-driven nanoswimmer was found to be efficient with self-propulsion, penetrating, and thermal-triggered release of the vancomycin (Van) antibiotic as chemo/PTT, resulting in in vivo biofilm elimination and the treatment of biofilm-associated infections ( Cui et al, 2020 ). Figure 4 shows the mechanisms for the photothermal and photocatalytic eradication of MRSA biofilms.…”

“…With a further increase in body weight, a reduction in the size of the skin lesion (by approximately 70% for MDREC and 60% for MRSA) was observed in a mouse model of skin infected with MDR E. coli and MRSA. Another study developed an NIR light-driven nano swimmer (HSMV) that effectively combines PTT and chemotherapy in one system that performs efficient self-propulsion and penetrates deep into the bacterial biofilm, increasing the photothermal removal of S. aureus (>90%) and the killing of bacterial cells plus a 5-fold log reduction (∼99.99%) in biofilm colonies to eradicate bacterial biofilms ( Cui et al, 2020 ). Furthermore, in vivo studies showed antibiofilm efficacy in mouse implant-related PPI model with complete wound healing and negligible damage to major organs such as heart, spleen, liver, kidney, and lungs, indicating good therapeutic biosafety of HSMV ( Cui et al, 2020 ).…”

Active Light‐Powered Antibiofilm ZnO Micromotors with Chemically Programmable Properties

“…Cui et al., reported near‐infrared light‐driven nanoswimmers able to penetrate biofilm by the photothermal effect of embedded gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). [ 35 ] Alternatively, Yuan et al., proposed more stable Pt‐based magnetic Janus micromotors for capture/killing S. aureus bacteria [ 36 ] while Villa et al., proposed Pt‐tubes coated with biocompatible TiO 2 for light‐triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS), responsible for degradation of dental biofilm. [ 9 ] Despite the promising results in biofilm deactivation, the as‐mentioned motors have a short lifetime and, being two‐ or multi‐component materials, their preparation requires several production steps, including expensive physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods.…”