Cu2MoS4 Nanozyme with NIR‐II Light Enhanced Catalytic Activity for Efficient Eradication of Multidrug‐Resistant Bacteria

Abstract Nanozymes with unique enzyme‐like catalytic properties and versatile functionalities are particularly attractive for the treatment of bacterial infections, especially for combating drug‐resistant bacteria. However, inherently low catalytic activity significantly limits their antibacterial performance. Herein, a new near‐infrared II (NIR‐II) light responsive nanozyme (Cu 2 MoS 4 nanoplates, CMS NPs) is developed for efficient eradication of multidrug‐resistant (MDR) bacteria. CMS NPs with intrinsic dual enzyme‐like property can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) by catalysis. Importantly, CMS NPs show NIR‐II light enhanced oxidase‐ and peroxidase‐like catalytic activities to improve ROS generation for highly efficient killing of bacteria. In vitro results demonstrate that CMS NPs (40 µg mL −1 ) achieve rapid killing of 8 log MDR Escherichia coli and 6 log MDR Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) under NIR‐II light irradiation (1064 nm, 1 W cm −2 ) in 10 min. Moreover, CMS NPs exhibit excellent therapeutic efficacy of MDR S. aureus infection in vivo as well as negligible toxicity to cells and animals, indicating their potential use as antibacterial agents. This work provides a novel antibacterial strategy by combining the catalytic generation of ROS and NIR‐II photothermal effect of nanozymes for efficient treatment of MDR bacteria‐related infections.