Electrospun N‐halamine/ZnO‐based platform eradicates bacteria through multimodal antimicrobial mechanism of action
Huihui Qu, Cong Wang, Yixuan Guo, Ziying Zhao, Long Qiao, Jiebing Yang, Haixia Wu, Quanshun Li, Alideertu Dong
Abstract
Abstract The emergence and prevalence of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria demands powerful antibacterial tactics to combat infectious microorganisms. Enhanced combinational therapy based on synergistic hybrid antibacterial materials is a promising approach to realize effective sterilization through the rational integration of distinct bactericides into one compact platform. In this work, we constructed a microfiber‐based antibacterial platform (PAM‐Cl/ZnO MFs) by electrospinning N‐halamine polymers (PAM‐Cl) loaded with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. The as‐designed PAM‐Cl/ZnO MFs inherited the intrinsic antibacterial effects of both PAM‐Cl microfibers (PAM‐Cl MFs) and ZnO microfibers (ZnO MFs), and the material exhibited enhanced synergistic antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) in vitro. The bactericidal effect was multimodal and included contact killing based on the N–Cl bond of N‐halamine, multiple‐release killing, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) under light irritation, and Zn 2+ and Cl + acting as antibacterial agents. Importantly, PAM‐Cl/ZnO MFs worked on inactivate bacteria even under harsh temperatures and atmospheric conditions. Additionally, PAM‐Cl/ZnO MFs exhibited good biocompatibility and performed outstanding acceleration of wound healing with in vivo mouse skin defect models using S. aureus . This work advances the design of antibacterial hybrid materials with the potency to eradicate bacteria in biological systems in multiple settings through the superiority of multimodal synergistic therapy.