Near-Infrared Light-Triggered Therapy to Combat Bacterial Biofilm Infections by MoSe2/TiO2 Nanorod Arrays on Bone Implants

Light-triggered antibacterial therapy is a promising alternative to combat bone-implant-associated infections. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is already widely used in biomedical engineering due to its excellent biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and photocatalytic capability. However, the narrow absorption band in near-infrared (NIR) region restricts its practical application as photosensitizer for disinfection. Herein, molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2)/TiO2-Ti nanorod arrays (NRAs) with enhanced photothermal conversion and photocatalytic performance under 808 nm NIR light irradiation are prepared on titanium (Ti) by a two-step hydrothermal treatment. The combined actions of hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species give rise to excellent antibacterial activities on titanium requiring irradiation for only 10 min as demonstrated by the experiments conducted in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the introduction of arginine-glycine-aspartic acid can not only eliminate the weak toxicity of MoSe2, but also improve the cell adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of TiO2-Ti NRAs. This composite NRAs show great promise for in situ and nonsurgical treatment of biofilm infection on Ti implants.