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Updated: Oct 2, 2026
Come to the Light Side: In Vivo Monitoring of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Infections in Chronic Wounds in a Diabetic Hairless Murine Model
Published on: October 10, 2017
Infection microenvironment-responsive guanidine-modified nanostructures for precision photothermal therapy of
Mingyue Wang1, Jie Qin2, Yufei Zhang3
1Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Taian, 271000, China.
Abstract:
Diabetic wounds are among the most challenging complications of diabetes, particularly when persistent bacterial biofilms sustain infection, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Here, we developed an infection-microenvironment-responsive nanotherapeutic platform (AuNCs@PGD) by associating guanidine-rich PGD polymers with gold nanoclusters (AuNCs). The cationic PGD coating promotes interaction with negatively charged bacterial and biofilm components, while phenylboronic-acid motifs provide additional affinity for diol-containing surface glycoconjugates. Under 808-nm irradiation, AuNCs@PGD produced a reproducible photothermal response and, together with bacterial capture and membrane disruption, markedly reduced bacterial viability and biofilm burden in vitro. In a polymicrobial diabetic full-thickness wound model, AuNCs@PGD2 + NIR accelerated wound closure and was associated with reduced bacterial burden, lower ROS/MDA and inflammatory cytokine levels, increased collagen deposition, and enhanced CD31-positive neovascularization. Overall, AuNCs@PGD integrates bacterial localization, photothermal antibacterial activity, and redox modulation in a single platform for infected diabetic wound treatment.