Stimuli-Actuated Turn-On Theranostic Nanoplatforms for Imaging-Guided Antibacterial Treatment

Antibacterial theranostic nanoplatforms, which integrate diagnostic and therapeutic properties, exhibit gigantic application prospects in precision medicine. However, traditional theranostic nanoplatforms usually present an always-on signal output, which leads to poor specificity or selectivity in the treatment of bacterial infections. To address this challenge, stimuli-actuated turn-on nanoplatforms are developed for simultaneous activation of diagnostic signals (e.g., fluorescent, photoacoustic, magnetic signals) and initiation of antibacterial treatment. Specifically, by combining the infection microenvironment-responsive activation of visual signals and antibacterial activity, these theranostic nanoplatforms exert both higher accurate diagnosis rates and more effective treatment effects. In this review, the imaging and treatment strategies that are commonly used in the clinic are first briefly introduced. Next, the recent progress of stimuli-actuated turn-on theranostic nanoplatforms for treating bacterial infectious diseases is summarized in detail. Finally, current bottlenecks and future opportunities of antibacterial theranostic nanoplatforms are also outlined and discussed.

Automated summary

Antibacterial theranostic nanoplatforms with diagnostic and therapeutic properties have promising applications in precision medicine. However, traditional platforms suffer from poor specificity or selectivity. To overcome this challenge, stimuli-actuated turn-on nanoplatforms have been developed for simultaneous activation of diagnostic signals and antibacterial treatment, achieving accurate diagnosis rates and effective treatment effects. This review introduces commonly used imaging and treatment strategies, summarizes recent progress in stimuli-actuated turn-on theranostic nanoplatforms for bacterial infectious diseases, and outlines current bottlenecks and future opportunities.