Remarkably enhanced light and Ultrasonic-Boosting Peroxidase-like activity of g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP for antimicrobial applications

Bacterial infections therapy based on reactive oxygen species (ROS) remains challenging due to the limited efficacy of ROS generation. Herein, sonosensitizer molecules meso-tetra (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) -modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) (g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP) was linked by Cu. The obtained g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP exhibited highly efficient photoacoustic-augmented catalytic activities. Moreover, the peroxidase-like (POD-like) activity of g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP was enhanced by ultrasound-visible light stimulation to enhance ROS production (i. e., superoxide radicals (& BULL;O2-) and hydroxyl radicals (& BULL;OH)) to achieve effective antimicrobial activities against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria with killing efficiency up to nearly 99.99%. Furthermore, in vitro antibacterial experiments results indicated that g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP exerted a synergistic effect for antimicrobial through disrupting cell integrity and producing ROS. Another possible reason is that a large amount of generation of holes (h+) and electrons (e-) under the photoacoustic-augmented caused charge transfer made a great contribution to the strong antibacterial capacity of the g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP. The developed photoacoustic nanozyme system provides a promising strategy for eradication of bacterial infection.

Automated summary

The combination of sonosensitizer molecules and graphitic carbon nitride modified by Cu enhances the catalytic activities and ROS generation for effective antimicrobial activities. The developed photoacoustic nanozyme system provides a promising strategy for eradication of bacterial infection.