Oxygen-Generating Cyanobacteria Powered by Upconversion-Nanoparticles-Converted Near-Infrared Light for Ischemic Stroke Treatment

Stroke is one of most common causes of death and disability. Most of neuroprotective agents fail to rescue neurons from cerebral ischemic insults, mainly because of targeting downstream cascading events, such as excitotoxicity, oxidative and nitrosative stress, and inflammation, rather than improving hypoxia that initially occurs. Here, we report a near-infrared light (NIR)-driven nanophotosynthesis biosystem capable of generating oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide, thus rescuing neurons from ischemia toward treating stroke. Through cerebral delivery of S. elongatus that spontaneously photosynthesize and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), NIR with excellent tissue penetrating capability is converted to visible light by UCNPs to activate S. elongatus generating oxygen in vivo, enhancing angiogenesis, reducing infarction, and facilitating repair of brain tissues, thus improving neuronal function recovery. The combination of cell-biological, biochemical, and animal-level behavioral data provides compelling evidence demonstrating that this oxygen-generating biosystem through jointly utilizing microorganism and nanotechnology represents a novel approach to stroke treatment.