Boron doped graphdiyne: A metal-free peroxidase mimetic nanozyme for antibacterial application
Xuelong Bi, Qiang Bai, Lina Wang, Fanglin Du, Manhong Liu, William W. Yu, Siheng Li, Jiaqiang Li, Zhiling Zhu, Ning Sui, Jin Zhang
Abstract
The abuse of conventional antibiotics leads to increasing bacterial resistance. Nanozyme is a new kind of ultra-efficient and safe nanomaterial with intrinsic enzyme-like activities, showing remarkable potential as a next generation nanobactericide. Graphdiyne (GDY) is a burgeoning two-dimensional (2D) carbon allotrope with intriguing physicochemical properties, holding a great promise as a metal-free nanozyme. In this study, a boron doped GDY nanosheet (B-GDY) was constructed to simulate the performance of peroxidase (POD). By promoting the decomposition of H2O2 to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), the bactericidal efficacies against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were substantially enhanced attributed to the extremely high catalytic activity of B-GDY. In-depth density functional theory (DFT) calculations illuminate that doping of boron can introduce more active B-defect sites as well as lower Gibbs free energy during the H2O2 decomposition reaction. Notably, B-GDY contributes to significant wound healing and excellent biocompatibility, reducing the biological burden. The design of this nanozyme opens a new avenue for the development of alternative antibiotics.