Piezoelectric materials can evoke electrochemical reactions by transferring charge carriers to reactants upon receiving mechanical stimuli. We report a newly discovered function of piezoelectric bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) nanosheets for dissociating Alzheimer's β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregates through ultrasound-induced redox reactions. The accumulation of Aβ aggregates (e.g., Aβ fibrils, plaques) in the central nervous system is a major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, clearing Aβ aggregates is considered a key for treating AD, but the dissociation of Aβ aggregates is challenging due to their extremely robust structure consisting of β-sheets. BiOCl nanosheets are a biocompatible piezoelectric material with piezocatalytic activity in response to ultrasound. Our analyses using multiple spectroscopic and microscopic tools have revealed that BiOCl nanosheets effectively disassemble Aβ fibrils under ultrasound stimulation. Sono-activated BiOCl nanosheets produce piezo-induced oxidative stress, which effectively destabilizes the β-sheets in Aβ fibrils. In vitro evolution has also shown that sono-activated BiOCl nanosheets can effectively alleviate the neuro-toxicity of Aβ fibrils. Furthermore, ex vivo evolution demonstrated that amount of Aβ plaques in AD mouse's brain slices was drastically reduced by treatment with sono-activated BiOCl nanosheets.

压电材料可以在接受机械刺激后通过将电荷载体转移到反应物上来引发电化学反应。我们报道了压电发现的三氯氧化铋（BiOCl）纳米片的新发现的功能，通过超声诱导的氧化还原反应解离阿尔茨海默氏症的β-淀粉样蛋白（Aβ）聚集体。Aβ聚集体的积累（例如，中枢神经系统中的Aβ原纤维，斑块是阿尔茨海默氏病（AD）的主要病理标志。因此，清除Aβ聚集体被认为是治疗AD的关键，但是由于Aβ聚集体由β-片组成的极其坚固的结构，其解离具有挑战性。BiOCl纳米片是对超声波具有压电催化活性的生物相容性压电材料。我们使用多种光谱和显微镜工具进行的分析表明，BiOCl纳米片在超声刺激下可有效分解Aβ原纤维。声活化的BiOCl纳米片会产生压电诱导的氧化应激，从而有效地破坏Aβ原纤维中的β片的稳定性。体外进化还表明，声激活的BiOCl纳米片可以有效减轻Aβ原纤维的神经毒性。此外，离体进化证明，通过用声活化的BiOCl纳米片处理，AD小鼠脑切片中的Aβ斑块的量大大减少。