Near-Infrared-Light-Enhanced Ultrasmall Ruthenium Dioxide Nanozyme against Drug-Resistance Bacterial Infections

Drug-resistant bacterial infections have posed a serious threat to human health. Fortunately, nanozyme provides an effective alternative strategy for treating resistant bacteria infections through a “physical” antibacterial mode. Hence, ultrasmall ruthenium dioxide nanozymes (sRuO 2 NPs) were synthesized to treat drug-resistant bacteria through a multichannel combination therapy strategy. The results show that sRuO 2 NPs have an excellent photothermal conversion ability, reaching 50.4 %. In addition, under the irradiation of near-infrared light, the peroxidase activity of the sRuO 2 NPs gets enhanced, which is superior to that of many reported nanoenzymes. In vitro antibacterial experiments showed that the sRuO 2 NPs have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and can kill bacteria by destroying the membrane integrity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) and Escherichia coli ( E.coli ). More importantly, the sRuO 2 NPs show a good therapeutic effect in a mouse model of skin infection with E. coli, with the ability to promote wound healing. In summary, nanozyme provides a great idea for the treatment of drug-resistant bacteria through PDT and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) multichannel synergistic antibacterial therapy.