A Multifunctional Subphthalocyanine Nanosphere for Targeting, Labeling, and Killing of Antibiotic‐Resistant Bacteria

Abstract

Developing a material that can combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a major global health threat, is an urgent requirement. To tackle this challenge, we synthesized a multifunctional subphthalocyanine (SubPc) polymer nanosphere that has the ability to target, label, and photoinactivate antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a single treatment with more than 99 % efficiency, even with a dose as low as 4.2 J cm(-2) and a loading concentration of 10 nM. The positively charged nanosphere shell composed of covalently linked SubPc units can increase the local concentration of photosensitizers at therapeutic sites. The nanosphere shows superior performance compared to corresponding monomers presumably because of their enhanced water dispersibility, higher efficiency of singlet-oxygen generation, and phototoxicity. In addition, this material is useful in fluorescence labeling of living cells and shows promise in photoacoustic imaging of bacteria in vivo.

Polycationic Synergistic Antibacterial Agents with Multiple Functional Components for Efficient Anti‐Infective Therapy

“…The highly oxidative 1 O 2 can cause irreversible damage to many important biomolecules, such as membrane lipids, proteins, and cellular DNA, and possibly lead enzyme inactivation and inhibition of DNA replication. PDT could effectively kill bacteria including drug‐resistant bacteria . However, due to the different surface structures of Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria, PDT reflects different effects.…”

Phthalocyanine‐Assembled Nanodots as Photosensitizers for Highly Efficient Type I Photoreactions in Photodynamic Therapy

“…[12] In addition, introduction of amine groups on phthalocyanines is an attractive strategy to enhance hydrophilicity as well as the ability to target negatively charged pathogen cell membranes. [13] Also,r esults arising from our earlier studies and those of others suggest that interactions between the lone pair electrons of amine groups and the p-system of phthalocyanine macrocycle leads to photoinduced electron transfer (PET) quenching of ROS generation by these PSs,and that the presence of appropriate spacers (e.g. methylene) between the amines and phthalocyanine p-system efficiently inhibits the PET effect.…”

Recent Progress on Photoacoustic Imaging Enhanced with Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Technologies

“…Furthermore, using exogenous contrast agents, PAI can also delineate transparent biological organs, such as lymphatic systems, bladder, intestines, etc. and monitor theranostic process [ 3 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. These benefits contribute significantly to basic life sciences and expedite clinical translation in dermatology, oncology, ophthalmology, neurology, etc.…”