Copper–Boron Dipyrromethene Nanoagent for Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy and Wound Healing

Antibacterial photodynamic therapy (APDT) can effectively kill bacteria by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) under laser irradiation and does not produce drug resistance, which has given rise to interest in antimicrobial therapy. Boron dipyrromethene (BDP) scaffolds have been recognized as promising photosensitizers (PSs) for APDT with high efficiency. Here, we designed BDP nanobactericides (BCu NPs) for efficient photodynamic inactivation of bacteria through the coordination interaction between carboxyl groups and copper ions. BCu NPs can cause depression of the bacterial surface as well as leakage of the contents under green light irradiation, leading to an effective destruction of bacteria. In addition, the results of in vivo experiments proved that BCu NPs can effectively kill the bacteria on the skin surface, thus effectively accelerating skin wound healing. This work illustrates a facile tactics to enable the assembly of hydrophobic dyes into nanoparticles through conjugation.