Two-dimensional FeCu-metal-organic-framework boosts peroxidase activity for antibacterial application

Abstract

The overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, posing a serious threat to human health and increasing the medical burden. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great potential as enzyme mimics for antibacterial applications; however, their performance is often limited by the low density and poor accessibility of active sites. Herein, we report an innovative surface-active agent intercalation–assisted confinement growth strategy for constructing two-dimensional (2D) NH₂-BDC-Cu, Fe nanosheets (NSs) with highly exposed active site to enhance reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, thereby improving the antibacterial efficiency against drug-resistant bacteria. We demonstrate that the synthesized 2D NH₂-BDC-Cu, Fe NSs exhibit 6.6-fold higher ROS production compared to NH₂-BDC-Cu, Fe nanopowders (NPs). Consequently, NH₂-BDC-Cu, Fe NSs achieve 100 % antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli within 1 h, markedly outperforming NH₂-BDC-Cu, Fe NPs and previously reported biomaterials. Moreover, in vivo experiments confirm that NH₂-BDC-Cu, Fe NSs accelerate wound healing, achieving a 100 % healing rate within 10 days, which is substantially higher than that of NH₂-BDC-Cu, Fe NPs. Overall, this work introduces a novel and efficient strategy for fabricating 2D MOF nanoenzymes with high active-site exposure, offering great promise for the development of advanced biomaterial-based antibacterial therapies.