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Low-Temperature Trigger Nitric Oxide Nanogenerators for Anti-biofilm and Wound Healing

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Abstract

Infected wounds pose a significant global health challenge due to the persistence of bacterial biofilms and limited tissue self-repair. Nitric oxide (NO) functions as a potent antimicrobial agent, demonstrating a dual capacity for both antimicrobial action and tissue rejuvenation across varying concentrations. However, achieving controlled NO release at distinct stages of infected wound progression, simultaneously targeting biofilm removal and wound recovery, remains a formidable challenge. In this work, we introduce a smart electrospun fibrous membrane, featuring an interior laden with NO-loaded HKUST-1 particles and a porous external surface. Notably, the results reveal the photothermal property of HKUST-1 when exposed to near-infrared (NIR) light, enabling precise management of NO release contingent upon light conditions. During the initial phase of infection treatment, a significant NO release is triggered by near-infrared photothermal stimulation, synergistically complementing photothermal therapy to effectively eliminate bacterial biofilms. Subsequently, in the wound-healing phase, NO is released from the degrading fibrous membrane in a controlled and gradual manner, synergizing with trace amounts of copper ions released during MOF degradation. This collaborative mechanism accelerates the formation of blood vessels within the wound, thereby facilitating the healing process. This study suggests a promising and innovative approach for the effective treatment of infected wounds.

Graphical Abstract

A smart electrospinning fibrous membrane that can intelligently release NO at different stages of infected wound treatment was designed, which could eliminate biofilm and promote the healing of infected wounds.

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All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Information. Additional data related to this paper may be requested from the authors.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32271386), Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials (Grant No: WIUCASZZXF21001), Wenzhou Science and Technology Major Project (ZY2022028), Wenzhou Science and Technology Project (Y20220142), the seed grants from the Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (WIUCASQD2020013, WIUCASQD2021030), the Opening Project of State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure (Grant Nos: SKL202112SIC, SKL202213SIC), and the founding from First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Furthermore, the authors would like to thank Scientific Research Center of Wenzhou Medical University for consultation and instrument availability that supported this work.

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Author notes

  1. Lefeng Su, Chenle Dong, and Lei Liu have contributed equally to this work and share the first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Biomimetic Catalysis, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, People’s Republic of China

    Lefeng Su, Lei Liu, Qinfei Ke & He Xu

  2. Joint Centre of Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China

    Lefeng Su, Chenle Dong, Yanping Feng, Jinfeng Xu, Jiang Chang & Chen Yang

  3. State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, People’s Republic of China

    Jiang Chang, Chen Yang & He Xu

  4. Wenzhou Institute, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China

    Lefeng Su, Chenle Dong, Yanping Feng, Jinfeng Xu, Jiang Chang & Chen Yang

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  1. Lefeng Su
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Contributions

LS, CD, and LL contributed equally to this work. LS, CD, and LL: investigation, experimental operation, data curation, and writing—original draft. JX and YF: experimental operation. QK: supervision and funding acquisition. HX, CY, and JC: supervision, funding acquisition, and writing—review and Editing.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jiang Chang, Chen Yang or He Xu.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Supporting Information

Supplementary information contains experimental results including characterization of materials, cell viability of HUVECs, SEM images of bacterial, CLSM images of biofilms, cell migration of HaCaT, number of S. aureus in vivo, and primers used in RT-PCR.

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Su, L., Dong, C., Liu, L. et al. Low-Temperature Trigger Nitric Oxide Nanogenerators for Anti-biofilm and Wound Healing. Adv. Fiber Mater. 6, 512–528 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-023-00369-2

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