Photo-responsive CuS@Al modified PVA-based nanofiber membranes with enhanced antibacterial efficiency

CuS@6/PVA exhibited good photothermal conversion effect within 15 s. • CuS@6/PVA showed excellent photothermal and photodynamic antibacterial properties within 10 min. • Al@CuS/PVA series displayed satisfactory hemocompatibility. Wound infections remains a persistent clinical challenge, and antibacterial functionalization of wound dressings represented a promising and effective approach to addressing this issue. In this study, a series of aluminum-doped copper sulfide/polyvinyl alcohol (Al@CuS/PVA) nanofiber membranes were fabricated via electrospinning combined with an in situ synthesis method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy were adopted to conduct systematic characterization of the membranes’ structural and morphological properties. The results indicated that aluminum doping significantly enhanced both the photothermal conversion efficiency under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation and the photodynamic activity under simulated sunlight exposure. For CuS@6/PVA, the temperature rapidly increased to above 160 °C within 15 s under 1 W/cm² NIR irradiation, along with efficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In photothermal and photodynamic antibacterial testing, CuS@6/PVA demonstrated impressive bacterial eradication efficiency. Both Escherichia coli and S. aureus were completely inactivated within 10 min under NIR or simulated sunlight irradiation. Hemocompatibility assessment demonstrated low hemolysis rates (<5%), indicating favorable blood compatibility. These findings demonstrate that Al@CuS/PVA nanofiber membranes possess considerable potential as a dual-mode antibacterial platform for advanced wound dressings and other biomedical applications. Download: Download high-res image (221KB) Download: Download full-size image