Poly(selenoviologen)-Assembled Upconversion Nanoparticles for Low-Power Single-NIR Light-Triggered Synergistic Photodynamic and Photothermal Antibacterial Therapy

• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c04506
• Publication Date: 2020-05-20T06:56:05Z
• Authors: Kun Zhou; Xinyu Qiu; Letian Xu; Guoping Li; Bin Rao; Baolin Guo; Dandan Pei; Ang Li; Gang He
• Keywords: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Photosensitizing Agents; Infrared Rays; Polymers; Hyperthermia, Induced; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Staphylococcal Infections; 01 natural sciences; Viologens; Anti-Bacterial Agents; 0104 chemical sciences; Fluorides; Mice; Photochemotherapy; Organoselenium Compounds; Thulium; Animals; Nanoparticles; Yttrium; Ytterbium; Reactive Oxygen Species

The development of a highly effective photosensitizer (PS) that can be activated with a low-power single light is a pressing issue. Herein, we report a PS for synergistic photodynamic and photothermal therapy constructed through self-assembly of poly(selenoviologen) on the surface of core-shell NaYF4:Yb/Tm@NaYF4 upconversion nanoparticles. The hybrid UCNPs/PSeV PS showed strong ROS generation ability and high photothermal conversion efficiency (∼52.5%) under the mildest reported-to-date irradiation conditions (λ = 980 nm, 150 mW/cm2, 4 min), leading to a high efficiency in killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) both in vitro and in vivo. Remarkably, after intravenous injection, the reported PS accumulated preferentially in deep MRSA-infected tissues and achieved an excellent therapeutic index. This PS design realizes a low-power single-NIR light-triggered synergistic phototherapy and provides a simple and versatile strategy to develop safe clinically translatable agents for efficient treatment of deep tissue bacterial inflammations.