Recent Advances in Nanozymes and Their Composites for Antibiofilm Applications

Biofilm-associated infections caused by microbial communities have become a major threat to the global public health. Once formed, biofilms not only significantly enhance microbial resistance to antibiotics but also render infections extremely difficult to eradicate, often resulting in poor clinical outcomes and high mortality rates. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop effective antibiofilm strategies to combat these persistent infections. Nanozymes, nanomaterials with intrinsic enzyme-like catalytic activities, have attracted increasing attention as promising tools for combating biofilm-related infections. As artificial enzyme mimics, nanozymes exhibit excellent catalytic efficiency, enabling them to rapidly generate large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or catalyze the hydrolysis of biomolecules within microbial cells and biofilms, thereby effectively preventing biofilm formation or eradicating established biofilm. Combined with their good biocompatibility and stability, nanozymes have made remarkable progress in antibiofilm applications over the past five years. In this review, we first provide a brief overview of biofilm infections, biofilm structure, and the mechanisms underlying their antibiotic resistance. Then, we summarize recent advances in the application of nanozymes and their composites to the prevention and disruption of microbial biofilms. Finally, we briefly summarize the present status of nanozymes in antibiofilm research, discuss existing challenges, and propose future prospects for nanozymes in combating biofilms.