Biofilms contribute to bacterial infection and drug resistance and are a serious threat to global human health. Antibacterial nanomaterials have attracted considerable attention, but the inhibition of biofilms remains a major challenge. Herein, we propose a nanohole-boosted electron transport (NBET) antibiofilm concept. Unlike known antibacterial mechanisms (e.g., reactive oxygen species production and cell membrane damage), nanoholes with atomic vacancies and biofilms serve as electronic donors and receptors, respectively, and thus boost the high electron transport capacity between nanomaterials and biofilms. Electron transport effectively destroys the critical components (proteins, intercellularly adhered polysaccharides and extracellular DNA) of biofilms, and the nanoholes also significantly downregulate the expression of genes related to biofilm formation. The anti-infection capacity is thoroughly verified both in vitro (human cells) and in vivo (rat ocular and mouse intestinal infection models), and the nanohole-enabled nanomaterials are found to be highly biocompatible. Importantly, compared with typical antibiotics, nanomaterials are nonresistant and thereby exhibit high potential for use in various applications. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, these findings hold promise for the use of NBET in treatments for pathogenic bacterial infection and antibiotic drug resistance.

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Nanohole-boosted electron transport between nanomaterials and bacteria as a concept for nano-bio interactions

Boosting Photocatalytic Activity Using Carbon Nitride Based 2D/2D van der Waals Heterojunctions

Ferroptosis, resulting from the catastrophic accumulation of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the inactivation of glutathione (GSH)-dependent peroxidase 4 (GPX4), has emerged as a form of regulated cell death for cancer therapy. Despite progress made with current ferroptosis inducers, efficient systems to trigger ferroptosis remain challenging, owing largely to their low activity, uncontrollable behavior, and even nonselective interactions. Here, we report a self-adaptive ferroptosis platform by engineering a DNA modulator onto the surface of single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes). The modulator could not only specifically intensify the ROS-generating activity but also endow the SAzymes with on-demand GSH-consuming ability in tumor cells, accelerating selective and safe ferroptosis. The self-adaptive antitumor response has been demonstrated in colon cancer and breast cancer, promoting the development of selective cancer therapy.

Self-Adaptive Single-Atom Catalyst Boosting Selective Ferroptosis in Tumor Cells.

Combination therapy has been extensively studied to achieve a more efficient inhibition of tumor progression. Herein, a nanoplatform based on layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles (NPs) is specifically constructed for the effective combination breast cancer therapy without the traditional anticancer drug. Cu‐containing LDH NPs loaded with indocyanine green (ICG) are devised with more Cu coordination defects (d‐Cu‐LDH/ICG) to induce photothermal/photodynamic/chemodynamic therapy (PTT/PDT/CDT) using only one laser source. The structurally created defects on the LDH surface and dual‐function ICG molecules in the LDH interlayer significantly enhance photothermal transduction and singlet‐oxygen (1O2) generation at 808 nm laser irradiation. Moreover, d‐Cu‐LDH/ICG NPs generate hydroxyl radicals (·OH) in the presence of H2O2 as Fenton catalysts, which are further enhanced by Cu(II) reduction with glutathione and temperature elevation. Consequently, d‐Cu‐LDH/ICG NPs significantly suppress 4T1 cell proliferation and show effective inhibition of the tumor growth in vivo through only one combined PTT/PDT/CDT under very mild laser irradiation, i.e., at 0.23 W cm−2 for 5 min with very low doses of Cu and ICG (2.5 and 0.5 mg kg−1). Altogether, the defect‐created d‐Cu‐LDH/ICG nanoplatform offers a new and safe treatment option for combination cancer therapy without using any anticancer drugs.

Creating Structural Defects of Drug-Free Copper-Containing Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoparticles to Synergize Photothermal/Photodynamic/Chemodynamic Cancer Therapy

Nanomaterials (NMs) have developed quickly and cover various fields, but research on nanotechnology and NMs largely relies on costly experiments or complex calculations (e.g., density functional theory). In contrast, machine learning (ML) methods can address the large amount of time needed and labor consumption in material testing and achieve big-data, high-throughput screening, boosting the design and application of NMs. ML is a powerful tool for NM research; however, large knowledge gaps and critical issues should be promptly addressed to promote NMs from the laboratory to industry. With a focus on the primary NM aspects, enhancements to the design of NM structures, properties, adsorption, and catalysis by ML are reviewed and discussed. Given the emergent challenges in nanobiology, ML predictions of interactions between NMs and biology are also analyzed. Subsequently, this perspective discusses how to improve the interpretability of ML algorithms, which has been a bottleneck of ML in recent years. ML has led to innovations in the development of NMs, but some problems remain, such as imperfect databases and the accuracy of algorithm determination and nanopattern image recognition, which are herein addressed. Overall, this perspective provides insights for the development of ML in NM research.

Machine Learning Boosts the Design and Discovery of Nanomaterials

A 2D-2D heterojunction Bi2WO6/WS2-x as a broad-spectrum bactericide: Sulfur vacancies mediate the interface interactions between biology and nanomaterials.

Tonglei Shi

Papers

Nanohole-boosted electron transport between nanomaterials and bacteria as a concept for nano-bio interactions

A 2D-2D heterojunction Bi2WO6/WS2-x as a broad-spectrum bactericide: Sulfur vacancies mediate the interface interactions between biology and nanomaterials.

Predicting nanotoxicity by an integrated machine learning and metabolomics approach.

Nanocolloids in drinking water increase the risk of obesity in mice by modulating gut microbes.