Progress in nanomaterial-based synergistic photothermal-enhanced chemodynamic therapy in combating bacterial infections

The prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections has emerged as a serious threat to clinical treatment and global human health, and has become one of the most important challenges in clinical therapy. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop safe, effective, and new antibacterial strategies based on multifunctional nanomaterials for the accurate detection and treatment of MDR bacterial infections. Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is an emerging antibacterial therapeutic strategy that uses Fenton/Fenton-like metal-based nanocatalysts to convert hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) into hydroxyl radicals (OH) to destroy MDR bacterial infections. Despite the enormous potential of CDT, a single CDT has limitations such as low catalytic efficacy and insufficient production of H₂O₂. In this regard, CDT can be combined with other antibacterial strategies, such as photothermal therapy (PTT), in which CDT efficacy can be effectively enhanced by the PTT heating effect. Thus, the rational combination of PTT and CDT into one nanoplatform has been demonstrated as a highly efficient antibacterial strategy for achieving a better therapeutic effect. This review summarizes and discusses the latest advances in photothermal-enhanced CDT (PT/CDT) based on multifunctional nanomaterials for bacterial infection theranostics as well as the advantages, challenges, and future research directions for clinical applications, which will inspire the development of new PT/CDT based on metal-based photothermal nanocatalysts for future bacterial infection theranostics.