Tailored Self-Assembled Biomimetic Nanofibers for Light-Driven β-lactam Antibiotics Degradation in Water

The overuse of antibiotics in China and the resulting rise in antibiotic resistance pose an urgent need for effective antibiotic degradation in water. Developing artificial systems that mimic the catalytic efficiency of natural photoactive enzymes for this purpose remains a critical challenge. Despite decades of research, there is a notable scarcity of precisely designed scaffolds that can replicate the structural and functional efficiency of natural enzymes for waterborne antibiotic degradation, particularly at the nano- to micrometer scale. In this study, we present a core-corona type fiber-like micellar system designed for photothermal-assisted β-lactam antibiotic degradation (PAD) in water. This system integrates photothermal molecular chromophores (zinc porphyrin) and ionic copper degradation catalysts in close proximity within grafted solvophilic coronal chains on the surface of fiber-like crystalline scaffold. By employing a living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) strategy, we fine-tune the composition, dimensions, and antibiotic degradation performance of the PAD nanofibers. The tailored colloidal stable PAD nanofibers achieve a penicillin G degradation rate of 0.35 min^-1 per micromole of copper under simulated sunlight irradiation (AM 1.5) in deionized water, offering a promising platform for sustainable environmental remediation.