In-situ Encapsulated Aggregation Induced Emission Photosensitizer in Electrospun Nanofiber Mats for Light-Triggered Self-Disinfection

Personal protective equipment (PPE) can significantly reduce the negative impact of emerging infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria on public health and the global economy. However, conventional PPE without self-disinfection properties cannot kill the attached microorganisms efficiently, and may cause cross-contamination and environmental damage. Herein, an efficient aggregation-induced emission photosensitizer (AIE PS), ( E )-2-(3-cyano-5,5-dimethyl- 4-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)-styryl)furan-2(5H)-ylidene)malononitrile (TPE-TCF), was in-situ packaged within hollow nanospheres of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) by the assistance of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), to prepare TPE-TCF/SDS@ZIF-8 nanoparticles (NPs). These NPs exhibited both high reactive oxygen species (ROS) production efficiency and good stability. Then, they were assembled onto a polyacrylonitrile/polyvinyl-pyrrolidone (PPP) electrospun nanofiber mats to form composite nanofiber mats TZ-PPP via a visible light-induced dopamine (DA)-assisted co-deposition method. The electrospun nanofiber mats serve as an efficient antibacterial nano-platform, providing more adsorption sites for the composite NPs, enabling the exposed composite NPs to interact with oxygen sufficiently, and maximizing their antibacterial efficacy substantially. Importantly, the TZ-PPP composite nanofiber mats retained the initial ultra-high ROS production efficiency and superior antibacterial performance of TPE-TCF/SDS@ZIF-8 NPs. Under the irradiation of low-power white light (400-830 nm, 50 mW cm -2 ), TZ-PPP nanofiber mats were able to remove more than 99.9% (10 min) and 99.0% (40 min) of bacteria and fungi, respectively, with significant photodynamic inactivation of microorganisms. This study is an exploration of the combination of AIE PS with nanofibers, whose outstanding photodynamic antibacterial properties provide new perspectives for the development of novel medical protective materials.