Needle-Shaped ZnO/ZIF-L Hydrogel System for Bacterial pH-Responsive Detection and Synergistic Physical...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Bacterial susceptibility testing and real-time inactivation are crucial for public health, with applications in food safety and clinical diagnostics.
• Current methods often involve sequential detection and treatment, limiting efficiency.
• Developing integrated systems for simultaneous detection and inactivation is highly desirable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a pH-dependent ZnO/ZIF-L hydrogel system for simultaneous bacterial detection and inactivation.
• To create a visual, colorimetric method for identifying bacterial infections.
• To investigate the synergistic antibacterial mechanism of the ZnO/ZIF-L hydrogel.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of needle-shaped ZnO/ZIF-L systems via a self-template strategy.
• Preparation of ZnO/ZIF-L-embedded hydrogels using UV light-mediated photopolymerization with acrylamide, N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide), hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and bromothymol blue (BTB).
• Evaluation of bacterial detection via pH-responsive colorimetric changes and inactivation efficiency against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

Main Results:

• The hydrogel exhibited a pH-responsive colorimetric transition for rapid visual detection of bacterial infections, signaled by BTB.
• ZnO/ZIF-L photosensitizers enhanced charge separation and generated reactive oxygen species.
• The hydrogel achieved over 99% inactivation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus through a synergistic physical disruption/photodynamic mechanism.

Conclusions:

• The developed ZnO/ZIF-L hydrogel system enables sensitive, real-time bacterial detection and efficient simultaneous inactivation.
• This integrated platform overcomes limitations of conventional sequential detection-treatment approaches.
• The strategy offers a promising solution for safeguarding public health in food safety and clinical diagnostics.