Ultra-small Au/Pt NCs@GOX clusterzyme for enhancing cascade catalytic antibiofilm effect against F. nucleatum-induced periodontitis

Oral disease caused by pathogenic biofilm have a significant impact on human health, such as F. nucleatum-induced periodontitis. Clinical treatment for oral biofilm-induced diseases using scaling and antibiotics still encounters challenges of inevitable bleeding, drug resistance, and poor therapeutic effect. The development of nanozyme has provided a new strategy for inhibiting and removing oral biofilms recently. In this work, we had developed a bimetallic clusterzyme by Pt atom substitution in the structure of gold nanocluster (Au/Pt NCs) to enhance peroxidase-like (POD-like) activity, which exhibited high catalytic activity towards H2O2 due to the synergistic effect of Au and Pt atoms. Considering the insufficient catalytic activity in near-neutral conditions and requirement of high H2O2 level, clusterzyme with self-promoting antibacterial effect and excellent biocompatibility had been designed by coupling glucose oxidase (GOX) on Au/Pt NCs (Au/Pt NCs@GOX), which could fully utilize the nutrient-rich oral environment to convert nontoxic glucose into highly toxic (OH)-O-center dot through cascade catalytic reaction, thereby inhibiting and eradicating F. nucleatum-induced biofilm in vitro. Furthermore, animal experiments in vivo proved that Au/Pt NCs@GOX clusterzyme with good safety could successfully treat periodontitis in rats, reduce inflammation, and promote the regeneration of periodontal tissue. Overall, cascade clusterzyme in this work provides an insight to treat oral biofilm-induced periodontitis with a safe and efficient way for future clinical application.

Automated summary

A new type of nanozyme, Au/Pt NCs@GOX, which couples glucose oxidase (GOX) onto gold-platinum nanoclusters (Au/Pt NCs), has been developed. Through cascade catalytic reaction, it can fully utilize the nutrient-rich environment in the oral cavity to inhibit and eliminate the harmful bacteria F. nucleatum-induced biofilm. Animal experiments have demonstrated that this nanozyme has good safety and can effectively treat periodontitis in rats, reduce inflammation, and promote the regeneration of periodontal tissue.