Tan Ji, Zhang Haifeng, Liu Yisi, Hou Zhenhao, Wang Donghui, Zhou Junjie, Cao Yuanming, Qian Shi, Zheng Bowen, Nie JingJun, Cui Yuanyuan, Du Yun, Huang Kai, Yang Shengbing, Chen Dafu, Liu Xuanyong
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China.
School of Health Science and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China.
Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 21;11(12):eadt3159. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adt3159. Epub 2025 Mar 19.
Implant-associated infections are urgently addressed; however, existing materials are difficult to kill bacteria without damaging cells. Here, we propose an innovative concept of selective antibacterial starvation therapy based on interfering with proton and electron transfer on the bacterial membrane. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, a special Schottky heterojunction film composed of gold and alkaline magnesium-iron mixed metal oxides (Au/MgFe-MMO) was constructed on the titanium implant. Once bacteria contacted this implant, the Au/MgFe-MMO film continuously captured the proton and electron participated in respiratory chain of bacteria to impede their energy metabolism, leading to the deficit of adenosine 5'-triphosphate. Prolonged exposure to this starvation state inhibited numerous biosynthesis processes and triggered severe oxidative stress in bacteria, ultimately leading to their death due to DNA and membrane damage. In addition, this heterojunction film was comfortable for mammalian cells, without inhibiting mitochondrial function. This proposed starvation antibacterial therapy gives a notable perspective in designing biosafe smart antibacterial biomaterials.
植入物相关感染亟待解决；然而，现有的材料很难在不损伤细胞的情况下杀灭细菌。在此，我们提出了一种基于干扰细菌细胞膜上质子和电子转移的选择性抗菌饥饿疗法的创新概念。作为原理验证演示，在钛植入物上构建了一种由金和碱性镁铁混合金属氧化物（Au/MgFe-MMO）组成的特殊肖特基异质结薄膜。一旦细菌接触到这种植入物，Au/MgFe-MMO薄膜会持续捕获参与细菌呼吸链的质子和电子，从而阻碍其能量代谢，导致三磷酸腺苷缺乏。长时间处于这种饥饿状态会抑制众多生物合成过程，并在细菌中引发严重的氧化应激，最终由于DNA和膜损伤导致细菌死亡。此外，这种异质结薄膜对哺乳动物细胞无害，不会抑制线粒体功能。这种提出的饥饿抗菌疗法为设计生物安全的智能抗菌生物材料提供了一个显著的前景。
