The emergence of drug-resistant bacterial strains has challenged the use of traditional antibiotic therapies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel antibacterial materials or methods to effectively eradicate bacteria. Herein, we demonstrated a novel antibacterial system consisting of cupric oxide nanoparticles combined with ascorbic acid (CuO NPs/AA), which could act as a potent nanoantibiotic targeting both Escherichia coli (gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive) in vivo and in vitro, without noticeable cytotoxicity to mammalian tissue. The CuO NP/AA antibacterial system killed these microbes through a combined mechanism involving biofilm inhibition, cell membrane destruction, DNA damage, and enzyme inactivation. The antibacterial properties of CuO NPs/AA were mainly attributed to the generation of reactive oxygen species (e.g., ·OH) produced through the intrinsic ascorbate oxidase- and peroxidase-like activities of CuO NPs, highlighting their use as antibacterial nanozymes to treat bacterial infections.

耐药菌株的出现对传统抗生素疗法的使用提出了挑战。因此，迫切需要开发新的抗菌材料或方法来有效地根除细菌。在此，我们展示了一种由氧化铜纳米颗粒与抗坏血酸 (CuO NPs/AA) 组合组成的新型抗菌系统，该系统可以作为一种有效的纳米抗生素，在体内同时靶向大肠杆菌（革兰氏阴性）和金黄色葡萄球菌（革兰氏阳性）和体外, 对哺乳动物组织没有明显的细胞毒性。CuO NP/AA 抗菌系统通过涉及生物膜抑制、细胞膜破坏、DNA 损伤和酶失活的联合机制杀死这些微生物。CuO NPs/AA的抗菌特性主要归因于通过CuO NPs固有的抗坏血酸氧化酶和过氧化物酶样活性产生的活性氧（例如·OH），突出了它们作为抗菌纳米酶治疗细菌感染的用途.