Carbon Quantum Dots Carrying Antibiotics for Treating Dental Implant Bacterial Infections Following Photothermal Therapy

With the continuous development of antibacterial nanotechnology, nanoparticle-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) could treat dental implant bacterial infections. Here, a carbon quantum dots (CQDs) loading penicillin (CQDs@penicillin) was constructed as an innovative nanoplatforms to confer promising PTT and delivery of antibiotics. In this nanosystem, CQDs with distinct antibacterial application performance were utilized as an ideal nanocarrier for drug loading, evoking photothermal effects to generate heat under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. The delivery of penicillin could induce damage to the bacterial cell wall and play a bactericidal effect during the reproduction period of bacterial cells. The antibacterial effects in vitro implied that CQDs@penicillin could significantly kill bacterial cells without severe toxicity. This study proposes a feasible therapeutic strategy for the delivery of antibiotics to dental implant bacterial infections and simultaneously the PTT effect.