Coaxially fabricated electrospinning near-infrared light-responsive nanofibrous membranes for combating...

Nowadays, the rapid emergence of drug-resistant bacteria has posed a global threat to the public health, leading to increased cost of environmental hygiene and healthcare treatment, which urges the development of safe and efficient antibacterial strategies. Here, coaxially fabricated electrospun nanofibrous membrane (ENMs) consisted of quercetin (Qu) stabilized selenium nanoparticles (Qu@SeNPs) and electro-synthesized molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets were facilely formed as core/shell structure with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and α-Lipoic acid (LA) as cross-linker. The obtained ENMs formed by core-shell PVA/MoS₂/LA/Qu@SeNPs (PMLQS) showed good air permeability and near-infrared-light photothermal responsiveness to kill bacteria efficiently. Moreover, the obtained ENMs resembling extracellular matrix-like properties showed superior biocompatibility with negligible development toxicity of zebrafish. The antibacterial experiments indicated that the produced PMLQS fibrous membrane exhibited more pronounced bactericidal activity against Gram-positive (G⁺) Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) as compared to that of Gram-negative (G^-) Escherichia coli (E. coli). Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed MRSA inactivation by PMLQS ENMs involved disruption of ion transport, antioxidant system, carbohydrate metabolism and energy metabolism. Notably, the MRSA ADI pathway was also blocked supporting the minimized antibiotic resistance development. Therefore, the constructed near-infrared light-responsive PMLQS nanofibrous membrane held promise in tackling drug-resistant bacteria with enormous environmental and biomedical utilizations.