Remarkably enhanced light and Ultrasonic-Boosting Peroxidase-like activity of g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP for antimicrobial applications

Bacterial infections therapy based on reactive oxygen species (ROS) remains challenging due to the limited efficacy of ROS generation. Herein, sonosensitizer molecules meso-tetra (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) -modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) (g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP) was linked by Cu. The obtained g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP exhibited highly efficient photoacoustic-augmented catalytic activities. Moreover, the peroxidase-like (POD-like) activity of g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP was enhanced by ultrasound-visible light stimulation to enhance ROS production (i.e., superoxide radicals (∙O2–) and hydroxyl radicals (∙OH)) to achieve effective antimicrobial activities against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria with killing efficiency up to nearly 99.99%. Furthermore, in vitro antibacterial experiments results indicated that g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP exerted a synergistic effect for antimicrobial through disrupting cell integrity and producing ROS. Another possible reason is that a large amount of generation of holes (h+) and electrons (e-) under the photoacoustic-augmented caused charge transfer made a great contribution to the strong antibacterial capacity of the g-C3N4-Cu-TCPP. The developed photoacoustic nanozyme system provides a promising strategy for eradication of bacterial infection.