Aggregation-induced emission artificial enzyme(AIEzyme)with DNase-like activity:Imaging and matrix cleavage for combating bacterial biofilm

DNase-catalyzed hydrolysis of extracellular DNA(eDNA)has been widely employed to eradicate intractable biofilms.Although aggregation-induced emission(AIE)has become the ideal tool for killing planktonic bacteria,AIE luminogens(AIEgens)often lack DNase-mimetic activity,so as to suffer from poor anti-biofilm capacity.Here,an“AIEzyme”,a kind of AIE nanomaterial with enzyme-like activity,is designed and synthesized,where the AIEgens are used as the ligands of Zr-based coordination polymer nanoparticles.Not only does AIEzyme have enduring DNasemimetic activity with low activation energy,but also structural rigidity-stabilized fluorescence.Due to the long-acting hydrolysis for eDNA in biofilm,AIEzyme can efficiently disorganize the established biofilms with good penetrability and realize the healing of superbug-infected wounds under only one dose of AIEzyme.This work provides a strategy to endow ordinary AIEgens with DNase-like and antibiofilm activities.Moreover,AIEzymes can be observed by virtue of their own AIE character,facilitating the study on self-positioning and residual amount of AIEzymes in wounds.The concept“AIEzyme”would hopefully stimulate the tremendous expansion for the tool kits and the application of AIEgens and artificial enzymes.