Design of an intelligent Near-Infrared responsive antibacterial Nano-Platform based on MoS2/Cu3Mo2O9

Abstract

In this era of high drug resistance, there is an urgent need for novel antimicrobial agents and strategies to achieve smarter sterilization effects. However, developing an environmentally friendly, controllable, and self-cleaning smart antimicrobial material remains a formidable challenge. In this work, a smart antimicrobial nanoplatform composed of Cu3Mo2O9 and MoS2 has been successfully designed and synthesized. The computational findings reveal that, owing to the interfacial coupling between the two substances at the solid junction, this architecture can effectively absorb near-infrared light, significantly reduce migration resistance, and improve carrier separation efficiency. Empirical observations demonstrate that with a sample concentration of 100 μg/mL, under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, the microenvironmental temperature proximal to the bacteria can be swiftly elevated from 28.6 °C to in excess of 50 °C within a mere 6 min. The overall photothermal conversion efficiency is 32.6 %, and it exhibits an active oxygen level nearly 5 times higher than that of Cu3Mo2O9. Furthermore, the permeability of the cell membrane was greatly improved with the increased temperature, which is beneficial for the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) entering the bacterial cells. After synergistic antimicrobial treatment, the antibacterial rate against Escherichia coli can reach over 99 %. More importantly, this nano-platform features a unique ’activation’ mechanism that uses NIR as an ’activation switch’ to selectively toggle between ’passive defense,’ ’secondary sterilization,’ and ’active attack’ antibacterial modes as needed. Upon interaction with aqueous environments, its reusability and favorable biocompatibility with terrestrial and aquatic life promise to facilitate the intelligent eradication of deleterious microorganisms in aquatic systems via the diurnal cycle of sunrise and sunset. This is highly significant for the ongoing management and maintenance of public resources such as amusement parks, artificial fish ponds, and urban water features.