Light-Enhanced
Bacterial Killing and Wash-Free Imaging
Based on AIE Fluorogen
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Abstract
The rapid acquisition of antibiotic
resistance poses difficulties
in the development of effective methods to eliminate pathogenic bacteria.
New bactericides, especially those do not induce the emergence of
resistance, are thus in great demand. In this work, we report an aggregation-induced
emission fluorogen, TPE-Bac, for bacterial imaging and elimination.
TPE-Bac can be readily dissolved in aqueous solution with weak emission.
The presence of bacteria can turn on its emission, and thus no washing
step is required in the imaging process. Meanwhile, TPE-Bac can be
applied as a bactericide for elimination of bacteria. The amphiphilic
TPE-Bac bearing two long alkyl chains and two positively charged amines
can intercalate into the membrane of bacteria, increase membrane permeability
and lead to dark toxicity. The efficiency of bacteria killing is greatly
enhanced under light irradiation. TPE-Bac can serve as a photosensitizer
to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, which ensures
the efficient killing of bacteria. The TPE-Bac-containing agar plates
can be continuously used for bacteria killing by applying light to
induce ROS generation