Small Molecule-Capped Gold Nanoclusters for Curing Skin Infections

With the long-term and extensive abuse of antibiotics, bacteria can mutate into multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains, resist the existing antibiotics, and escape the danger of being killed. MDR bacteria-caused skin infections are intractable and chronic, becoming one of the most significant and global public-health issues. Thus, the development of novel antimicrobial materials is urgently needed. Non-antibiotic small molecule-modified gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) have great potential as a substitute for commercial antibiotics. Still, their narrow antibacterial spectrum hinders their wide clinical applications. Herein, we report that 4,6-diamino-2-pyrimidinethiol (DAPT)-modified AuNCs (DAPT-AuNCs) can fight against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains as well as their MDR counterparts. By modifying DAPT-AuNCs on nanofibrous films, we develop an antibiotic film as innovative dressings for curing incised wounds, which exhibits excellent therapeutic effects on wounds infected by MDR bacteria. Compared to the narrow-spectral one, the broad-spectral antibacterial activity of the DAPT-AuNCs-modified film is more suitable for preventing and treating skin infections caused by various kinds of unknown bacteria. Moreover, the antibacterial films display excellent biocompatibility, implying the great potential for clinical applications.