Cytocompatible Amphipathic Carbon Quantum Dots as Potent Membrane-Active Antibacterial Agents with Low Drug Resistance and Effective Inhibition of Biofilm Formation

作者：Peili Li, Meizhe Yu, Xiang Ke, Xuedong Gong, Zirong Li, Xiaodong Xing · 发表于：ACS Applied Bio Materials · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1021/acsabm.2c00292 · 被引用次数：36 · 研究领域：Carbon and Quantum Dots Applications、Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials、Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities

It is very challenging to design nanomaterials with both excellent antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility when facing bacterial infection. Here, inspired by antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), we fabricate carbon quantum dots (CQDs) derived from hydrophobic tryptophan and hydrophilic lysine or arginine (Lys/Trp-CQDs and Arg/Trp-CQDs), which possess amphipathic properties. These CQDs could effectively destroy bacterial membranes without developing resistance, inhibit biofilms formed by Staphylococcus aureus, and exhibit good in vitro biocompatibility. The antibacterial activities are caused by not only surface cationic structures and excess intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the CQDs but also the effects of the surface hydrophobic groups. These combined mechanisms of actions lead to bacterial membrane disruption, which raises the hope for combating bacterial infection without concern about drug resistance. What’s more, the effect of amphiphilicity on balancing sterilization with biocompatibility expands the research ideas for developing available antibacterial nanomaterials.