Antibacterial Narrow-Band-Gap Conjugated Oligoelectrolytes with High Photothermal Conversion Efficiency

Two conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COEs), WMG1 and WMG2, were designed with the goal of achieving near infrared absorption and high photothermal conversion efficiency. Specifically, electron-rich thiophene and electron-poor benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c']bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole subunits were introduced into the conjugated core to modulate the optical gap and to reduce the fluorescence emission efficiency. WMG1 and WMG2 show absorption maxima at around 800 nm, which favors tissue penetration. Although relatively small in size, WMG1 and WMG2 exhibit photothermal conversion efficiencies of circa 60 % and 54 %, respectively. WMG1 shows dark toxicity to the Gram positive bacterium B. subtilis and good photothermal killing efficiency toward both B. subtilis and Gram negative E. coli, features that demonstrate the promising potential of the COE molecular design for photothermal applications.