Imaging‐Guided Antibacterial Based on Gold Nanocrystals and Assemblies

Abstract Bacterial infection becomes a severe threat to human life and health worldwide. Antibiotics with the ability to resist pathogenic bacteria are therefore widely used, but the misuse or abuse of antibiotics can generate multidrug‐resistant bacteria or resistant biofilms. Advanced antibacterial technologies are needed to counter the rapid emergence of drug‐resistant bacteria. With the excellent optical properties, engineerable surface chemistry, neglectable biotoxicity, gold nanocrystals are particularly attractive in biomedicine for cancer therapy and antibacterial therapy, as well as nanoprobes for bioimaging and disease diagnosis. In this perspective, gold nanocrystal‐based antibacterial performance and deep‐tissue imaging are summarized, including near‐infrared‐light excited photoacoustic imaging and fluorescence imaging through deep tissue infections. On the basis of integrating “imaging‐therapy‐targeting” in single nanotheranostic, the current challenges of imaging‐guided antibacterial and therapy based on gold nanocrystals are discussed, and some insights are provided into the gold nanocrystal‐based nanoplatform that integrates antibacterial activity and therapy. This perspective is expected to provide comprehensive guidance for diagnosing and combating bacterial infections based on gold nanostructures.