Aloe-Emodin/Carbon Nanoparticles Hybrid Gels with Light-Induced and Long-Term Antibacterial Activity

摘要： Development of effective antimicrobial wound dressings has drawn wide attention in the wound care market. Here, we synthesized a natural antibiotic (aloe-emodin, AE) and carbon nanoparticles co-embedded polymer hybrid hydrogel as a novel wound dressing in the fight against skin infections potently. We systematically evaluated the properties of the obtained hydrogels, including physic-chemical characteristics, photothermal conversion efficiency, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, AE-released profile, antibacterial activity and wound-healing capability. The hybrid gels can initially deduct the number of bacteria rapidly in a short time through the near-infrared-light (NIR)-triggered photothermal/ROS route, and continuously kill the remaining live cells by released-AE from gels after turning off NIR source with the long-term antibacterial effect. These two antibacterial manners that complement each other lead to the excellent antibacterial performances towards various bacterial strains including multidrug-resistant bacteria. Moreover, in vivo Staphylcoccus aureus-infected animal experiments indicate that the hybrid gels upon NIR irradiation have a striking ability towards wound infection. These studies demonstrate that the AE and carbon nanoparticles co-embedded hybrid polymer hydrogels with NIR exposure may have applications in the wound combined care for bacterial infections.