Although efforts have been devoted to develop new antibacterial agents and techniques, the challenge of bacterial infection remains unresolved and is even increasing. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) driven by ultrasound (US) has demonstrated effectiveness in terms of penetration and it can help to clinically address the problem of deep tissue bacterial infection. In recent years, a variety of sonosensitizers, which were originally designed for photodynamic therapy, have been adopted for SDT. Yet, their unstable chemical stability and ineffective electron–hole separation are not favorable for clinical applications. Hence, we designed a new type of antibacterial sonosensitizer—namely, Au@Cu₂O hybrid nanocubes—in which an interfacial Schottky junction was built between a p-type semiconductor Cu₂O and a noble metal Au. When US stimulation was applied, the electrons from Cu₂O could be excited at the junction and transferred to Au. Since the formed Schottky barrier could block the backflow of US-excited electrons, a prolonged electron–hole separation can be successfully established. Additionally, because of the boosted sonocatalytic activity, the Au@Cu₂O hybrid nanocubes could produce a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are subject to US stimulation. Furthermore, we found that the sonocatalytic activity of the Au@Cu₂O hybrid nanocubes could be reinforced by increasing the amount of Au, enabling 99.67% of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) to be killed by US stimulation for 15 minutes. The cytocompatibility of Au@Cu₂O hybrid nanocubes was improved by a red blood cell membrane (RBC) coating over the surface, and the membrane did not sacrifice its superior antibacterial properties.

中文翻译：

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通过声动力学 Au@Cu2O 混合纳米立方体实现快速细菌消除

尽管致力于开发新的抗菌剂和技术，但细菌感染的挑战仍未解决，甚至还在增加。超声驱动的声动力疗法 (SDT) (US) 已证明其在穿透方面的有效性，它可以帮助临床解决深部组织细菌感染的问题。近年来，最初设计用于光动力疗法的多种声敏剂已被用于SDT。然而，它们不稳定的化学稳定性和无效的电子-空穴分离不利于临床应用。因此，我们设计了一种新型抗菌声敏剂——即 Au@Cu ₂ O 混合纳米立方体——其中在 p 型半导体 Cu ₂O 和贵金属 Au。当施加 US 刺激时，来自 Cu ₂ O的电子可以在结处被激发并转移到 Au。由于形成的肖特基势垒可以阻止美国激发电子的回流，因此可以成功建立延长的电子 - 空穴分离。此外，由于增强的声催化活性，Au@Cu ₂ O 混合纳米立方体可以产生大量的活性氧 (ROS)，这些活性氧物质 (ROS) 会受到美国的刺激。此外，我们发现 Au@Cu ₂ O 杂化纳米立方体的声催化活性可以通过增加 Au 的量来增强，使 99.67% 的金黄色葡萄球菌（S. aureus) 被美国刺激杀死 15 分钟。Au@Cu ₂ O杂化纳米立方体的细胞相容性通过表面的红细胞膜（RBC）涂层得到改善，并且膜没有牺牲其优异的抗菌性能。