Ti3C2 MXene/gold nanorods-based hybrid nanoparticles with photodynamic antibacterial activities

Photodynamic therapy as an antibiotic-free method could effectively solve the bacterial infection problem and avoid the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In this paper, Ti 3 C 2 @gold nanorods (GNRs)/PDA nanoparticles with synergistic photodynamic antibacterial properties were obtained by coating PDA on the surface of in situ growth Ti 3 C 2 @GNRs. GNRs growing on the surface of Ti 3 C 2 MXene nanosheets effectively prevented the aggregation of Ti 3 C 2 nanosheets, which ensured the distinct photodynamic antibacterial performance of Ti 3 C 2 . In addition, the introduction of SH-PEG-CH 3 to Ti 3 C 2 @GNRs nanosheets endowed Ti 3 C 2 @GNRs/PDA nanoparticles with good biocompatibility. Furthermore, Ti 3 C 2 @GNRs/PDA nanoparticles possessed synergistically enhanced photodynamic properties, caused by the remarkable photodynamic properties of Ti 3 C 2 MXene and PDA. In addition, with the increase in PDA content, Ti 3 C 2 @GNRs/PDA nanoparticles could produce more 1 O 2 under 660 nm laser irradiation and the minimum inhibitory concentrations of Ti 3 C 2 @GNRs/PDA 50 nanoparticles against E. coli and S. aureus decreased to about 0.07 mg/mL. Thus, this work utilizes the 1 O 2 -generating performance of Ti 3 C 2 MXene and PDA to fabricate Ti 3 C 2 @GNRs/PDA nanoparticles with synergistically enhanced photodynamic antibacterial activities, which is expected to be applied in antibiotic-free antibacterial field. Graphical abstract