Macrocycle-Based Antibacterial Materials

Bacterial infection, the cause of many diseases, has become one of the most severe global public health threats. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance poses a significant challenge in treating bacterial infections. Recently, synthetic macrocycles with various well-defined cavities and excellent dynamic, reversible, and directional noncovalent interactions can not only form complexation with biomarkers or drugs via host–guest recognition but also enable controlled drug delivery in response to many external stimuli, such as pH, thermal, redox, competitive binding, and light irradiation. Therefore, macrocycle-based functional materials have received increasing attention as promising candidates for precise on-demand bacteria inhibition. This Perspective provides an overview of the recent progress in the design and synthesis of macrocycle-based materials with antibacterial properties. The antibacterial mechanisms and various applications are also discussed in detail. Finally, the existing challenges and future opportunities in this emerging research field are put forward with the hope of promoting the further development of macrocycle-based antibacterial materials toward superior biomedical applications.