Structure-Controllable and Mass-Produced Glycopolymersomes as a Template of the Carbohydrate@Ag Nanobiohybrid with Inherent Antibacteria and Biofilm Eradication

Glycopolymer-supported silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have demonstrated a promising alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacteria-infected diseases. In this contribution, we report a class of biohybrid glycopolymersome-supported AgNPs, which are capable of effectively killing multidrug-resistant bacteria and disrupting related biofilms. First of all, glycopolymersomes with controllable structures were massively fabricated through reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) in an aqueous solution driven by complementary hydrogen bonding interaction between the pyridine and amide groups of N-(2-methylpyridine)-acrylamide (MPA) monomers. Subsequently, Ag+ captured by glycopolymersomes through the coordination between pyridine-N and Ag+ was reduced into AgNPs stabilized by glycopolymersomes upon addition of the NaBH4 reducing agent, leading to the formation of the glycopolymersome@AgNPs biohybrid. As a result, they showed a wide-spectrum and enhanced removal of multidrug-resistant bacteria and biofilms compared to naked AgNPs due to the easier adhesion onto the bacterial surface and diffusion into biofilms through the specific protein–carbohydrate recognition. Moreover, the in vivo results revealed that the obtained biohybrid glycopolymersomes not only demonstrated an effective treatment for inhibiting the cariogenic bacteria but also were able to repair the demineralization of caries via accumulating Ca2+ through the recognition between carbohydrates and Ca2+. Furthermore, glycopolymersomes@AgNPs showed quite low in vitro hemolysis and cytotoxicity and almost negligible acute toxicity in vivo. Overall, this type of biohybrid glycopolymersome@AgNPs nanomaterial provides a new avenue for enhanced antibacterial and antibiofilm activities and the effective treatment of oral microbial-infected diseases.