MoS₂/MnO₂ Nanoparticles Loaded with 2,2′-Azobis[2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)propane]dihydrochloride for Chemodynamic/Photothermal Antibacterial Applications

Drug-resistant bacterial infections pose a significant threat to global public health. Furthermore, the formation of biofilms makes traditional antibiotic treatments significantly less effective in killing multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. In this work, we prepared a molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) nanosphere-based nanocomposite that utilized both photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) for effectively eradicating biofilms. A layer of manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) was adsorbed onto the surface of the MoS 2 nanospheres by redox and electrostatic adsorption methods, and the resulting MoS 2 /MnO 2 were loaded with 2,2′-azobis[2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)propane]-dihydrochloride (AIPH) to form the MoS 2 /MnO 2 -AIPH nanocomposite (MMA). The microenvironment of biofilms is slightly acidic, lacks oxygen, and has a high concentration of glutathione (GSH). The MnO 2 was capable of reacting with GSH to deplete it while also generating • OH radicals for CDT. In the presence of NIR light (808 nm), the temperature increase brought about by PTT further enhanced the CDT efficacy synergistically. The results showed that the photothermal conversion efficiency of the MMA was 40.5% at a concentration of 100 μg/mL, and the biofilm eradication rate of both MDR Escherichia coli and MDR Staphylococcus aureus was above 90%. The high bacterial inhibition rate (above 96%), as well as the excellent biosafety and biocompatibility of the MMA nanocomposite enabled it to effectively promote wound healing, which has significant implications in treating bacterial infections and promoting wound healing in clinical settings.