A novel donor-acceptor structured diketopyrrolopyrrole-based conjugated polymer synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation (DArP) for highly efficient antimicrobial photothermal therapy

A novel donor (D)-acceptor (A) structured conjugated polymer (PDPP-TP), which contains two alternating D-A pairs, namely thiophene (T)-diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and thiophenen (T)-thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine (TP) along the main chain of the polymer, was synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation (DArP) for a highly efficient photothermal antibacterial treatment. The hydrophilic PDPP-TP-based nanoparticles (PTNPs) with a hydration diameter of about 120 nm were obtained by self-assembly using DSPE-mPEG(2000) as the polymer matrix. PTNPs show strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance with a lambda(max) at 910 nm (epsilon = 2.25 x 10(4) L mol(-1) cm(-1)) and NIR light-triggered photoactivity with a high photothermal conversion efficiency (PTCE) of 52.8% under 880 nm laser irradiation. Keeping the merits of excellent biocompatibility and photostability, PTNPs exhibited remarkable bacterial inhibition efficiency of almost 100% against Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive S. aureus with the help of an 880 nm laser (0.7 W cm(-2), 6 min), demonstrating its great potential as photothermal materials with a broad spectrum of activity for the effective treatment of microbial infections.

Automated summary

This study reports a novel conjugated polymer PDPP-TP with a donor-acceptor structure, which was synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation. The hydrophilic PDPP-TP-based nanoparticles (PTNPs) were obtained through self-assembly and showed strong near-infrared absorbance and high photothermal conversion efficiency under laser irradiation. PTNPs demonstrated remarkable antibacterial activity against Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive S. aureus with the assistance of an 880 nm laser, showcasing their potential for the effective treatment of microbial infections.