CRIO Team program). DKK acknowledges postdoctoral fellowship funding from AIHS and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. DKK also received a fellowship from the University of Calgary's Eyes High program. KSR is a Canada Varnier Scholar, and RM was supported by a fellowship from the University of Calgary's Eyes High program. VWY holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair.
Multidrug
resistance (MDR) of bacteria is a major threat to public
health globally and its unprecedented increase calls for immediate
alternative medical strategies. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy
(aPDT) offers alternative modalities to combat the growing MDR typically
by means of targeted cellular internalization of a photosensitizer
(PS) capable of producing photoinduced reactive oxygen species (ROS).
However, aPDT is severely limited by the self-aggregation behavior
and hydrophobicity of PS molecules, which significantly curbs its
viability for clinical application. The present study reports the
use of modified nanoscale metal–organic frameworks (NMOFs)
encapsulating a hydrophobic PS drug squaraine (SQ) to enhance aPDT
efficacy against drug-resistant planktonic bacteria and its biofilm
for the first time. Zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) NMOF nanocrystals
are attached postsynthetically with SQ (designated as ZIF8-SQ) and
the resultant drug-doped NMOF is characterized by TEM, FESEM, PXRD,
Raman spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and steady-state and
time-resolved fluorescence techniques. The microporous structures
of ZIF-8 behave as molecular cages ceasing the self-aggregation of
hydrophobic SQ. In addition, the formulated ZIF8-SQ produces cytotoxic
ROS under red-light irradiation (650 nm) in a pH sensitive way primarily
due to molecular level interaction and charge separation between ZIF-8
and SQ depicting a dual-stimuli-responsive nature. Most notably, ZIF8-SQ
provides unparalleled aPDT action against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and leads to complete loss
of adherence of structurally robust bacterial biofilms. Finally, the
nontoxic nature of the nanoconjugate toward human cells holds great
promise for effective treatment of MRSA and other detrimental antibiotic-resistant
microbes in clinical models.
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