Near-Infrared Molecular Photosensitizer Decorated with Quaternary Ammonium for High-Efficiency Photothermal Treatment of Bacterial Infections

oleh: Yuxuan He, Na Li, Sha Yang, Xiaofeng Tan, Li Tang, Qinglai Yang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-03-01

Deskripsi

In recent years, pathogenic infections have been a growing health threat due to the proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria, so photothermal therapy (PTT) has gained considerable interest in biological and medical fields, owing to its noninvasive and highly effective properties. However, it is hard to achieve selective bacteria targeting while generating a large amount of heat at infected sites. Cationic electrostatic interaction is considered to be a common antimicrobial strategy. Herein, an organic molecule named <b>RT-MN</b> was synthesized with four positively charged quaternary ammonium salts that can bind to negatively charged bacteria. Under near-infrared 808 nm laser irradiation, <b>RT-MN</b> could be efficiently converted into a large amount of heat to eradicate bacteria. In addition, its good water solubility and biological safety proved that <b>RT-MN</b> has excellent biological application prospects. Overall, four such positively charged photosensitizer <b>RT-MN</b>, as a non-antibiotic treatment for resistant bacteria, could be promising for the exploration of highly effective antibacterial agents.