Peroxidase-mimicking activities, photothermal, and antibiotic efficiency of silver selenide nanoparticles as an anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus agent

A new antibacterial mechanism developed by using multiple pathways is important to resolve the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This study shows the photothermal properties of Ag2Se nanoparticles under near-infrared (NIR) in a peroxidase-mimicking reaction. The photothermal conversion response is 47.85% under 808 nm NIR irradiation. Moreover, Ag2Se nanoparticles show the antibacterial activity by ineffective β-lactam antibiotic ceftazidime (CAZ) against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and increased membrane permeability of MRSA. Under synergistic conditions, Ag2Se killed 3.8 log10 MRSA in the presence of NIR, CAZ, and H2O2, which is higher than Ag2Se + H2O2 + NIR (3.4 log10) or Ag2Se + CAZ + NIR (2.9 log10). The hyperthermia generated by NIR irradiation, ROS from catalyzing H2O2 and synergy with CAZ accounted showed the highest antibacterial influence of Ag2Se.