Two-dimensional metal-organic framework loaded zinc oxide nanocomposites for near-infrared light response synergistic antibacterial and accelerate wound healing

Human health is seriously threatened by bacterial infections that are resistant to drugs. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for non-antibiotic methods to surmount the drug resistance of bacterial infections. As an attractive antibacterial strategy, mild photothermal therapy (PTT) shows great application potential because of its capacity to avoid medication resistance and outstanding biocompatibility. However, bacteria's resistance to heat limits its effectiveness. In this paper, a nanocomposite ZnO@Zr-Fc-MOF was established by growing ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on Zr-Fc-MOF nanosheet surfaces. The nanocomposite provided controllable photothermal therapy of Zr-Fc-MOF nanosheets and the inherent bacteriostatic characteristics of ZnO NPs, achieving synergistic effects to eliminate drug-resistant bacteria and promote wound healing. Encouragingly, MTT and in vitro bacteriostatic results showed that the combination of PTT and ZnO NPs achieved 99.5 % bacteriostatic rate without killing normal cells. The results of animal experiments showed that ZnO@Zr-Fc-MOF can effectively cure wounds infected by methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Generally speaking, the prepared ZnO@Zr-Fc-MOF was a promising treatment scheme, which can effectively inhibit bacterial growth, promote wound healing and have good biocompatibility.