AuPt Nanoparticle-Based Injectable Hydrogel as Cascade Nanozyme for Accelerating Bacteria-Infected Wound Healing
Huiyuan Bai, Zihan Ding, Jiaxi Qian, Maorong Jiang, Dengbing Yao
Abstract
Bacterial infections have been the main obstacle of wound healing in clinic. Conventional antibiotics have been widely used for bacterial infections therapy. However, the misuse and long-term use of antibiotics could induce drug resistance, resulting in the reduced antibacterial effect. Recently, the nanozyme-based combination therapy mode has emerged as a promising strategy to achieve enhanced antibacterial effect with different antimicrobial mechanisms. Inspired by this, a gold/platinum nanoparticle-based injectable hydrogel with nanozyme and photothermal properties was developed for accelerating bacteria-infected wound healing. In detail, gold/platinum nanoparticles (AuPt NPs) were prepared by reducing metal precursors in the presence of ascorbic acid. Then, AuPt NPs and GOx were incubated with thiol-terminated four-arm polyethylene glycol to form injectable AuPt/GOx gel. The AuPt/GOx gel possessed a cascade catalytic activity: GOx converted glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and subsequently promote peroxidase-like reaction of AuPt NPs to transfer H 2 O 2 into a more toxic hydroxyl free radical for destroying bacteria. More than that, AuPt/GOx gel displayed a good photothermal effect. The wound healing rate in AuPt/GOx gel + glucose + NIR group was the fastest, which is attributed to the synergistic effect of nanozyme activity and photothermal effect. This work provides a safe and robust strategy for bacterial infection therapy.