Dual-responsive polydopamine-embellished Zn-MOFs enabling synergistic photothermal and antibacterial metal ion therapy for oral biofilm eradication†

Abstract

Oral biofilms are associated with various oral diseases causing pain and discomfort, and pose a severe threat to general health. Conventional surgical debridement and antibacterial therapy often yield unsatisfactory outcomes because they either fail to fully and painlessly eliminate biofilms or increase the risk of bacterial resistance. In this study, we synthesized polydopamine-embellished Zn-MOFs (ZIF-8@PDA NPs), which can degrade under mildly acidic conditions to release Zn²⁺. These nanoparticles also convert near-infrared light energy into heat, thereby enabling synergistic photothermal and antibacterial metal ion therapy for oral biofilm eradication. Our findings reveal that therapy with ZIF-8@PDA NPs, when exposed to near-infrared radiation, demonstrates exceptional antibacterial efficacy and is highly effective in eradicating oral biofilms both in vitro and ex vivo. Furthermore, we used an in vivo rodent tooth biofilm model to demonstrate the suppression of dental caries. This work presents a promising solution for preventing and suppressing dental caries as well as other treating diseases linked to oral biofilm infections.