Low-Intensity Ultrasound-Activated Cavitation Effect Triggers Piezoelectric Catalysis Coordinating Respiratory Chain Interference Tactics Against Bacterial Infection

Abstract

Piezocatalytic therapy has aroused considerable attention in the treatment of bacterial infection due to its noninvasive and deep tissue penetration capabilities. The catalytic efficiency, however, is significantly constrained by the insufficient piezoresponse of sonosensitizers at low-intensity ultrasound (LIU) accompanied poor separation efficiency of charges, resulting in unsatisfactory sterilization. To address the dilemma, a piezocatalytic bio-heterojunction (P-bioHJ) consisting of BiOI and few-layered Mxene is constructed for rapid antibacterial. The engineered P-bioHJ not merely possesses a relatively narrow-bandgap for responding to the sonoluminescence emitted by the sonocavitation effect, but rather induces the interfacial polarization and the generation of oxygen vacancies to facilitate the effective separation of carriers, leading to a burst of radicals for rapid sterilization. Transcriptomic analysis reveals that P-bioHJ instigates sterilization by interfering with bacterial electron transport chain, disrupting both metabolism and energy synthesis. In vitro experiments indicate excellent cytocompatibility of P-bioHJ. Furthermore, in vivo assays demonstrate that P-bioHJ exhibits outstanding antimicrobial properties in a cutaneous infection model with LIU, and promotes angiogenesis and osteogenesis in an infectious bone defect model by decorating with naringin. As envisaged, this work offers valuable insight to augment piezocatalytic therapy by harnessing sonocavitation effect, advancing the remediation of infected tissue regeneration.