Elaborately engineered Au(I)-based AIEgens: Robust and broad-spectrum elimination abilities toward drug-resistant bacteria

Antimicrobial resistance(AMR)remains an urgent and formidable challenge to global public health.Developing new medicines or alternative therapies to address AMR is imperative.Herein,we rationally designed and synthesized a series of Au(I)-based aggregation-induced emission luminogens(AIEgens)to combat drug-resistant bacterial infections.Through systematic screening,we identified an optimal AIEgen,called complex 5,which can rapidly discriminate between gram-positive(G^(+))and gram-negative bacteria(G^(-))bacteria,and exert robust and broad-spectrum antimicrobial potency against diverse drug-resistant bacterial strains,including those intractable to treat in clinic.Furthermore,extensive testing against a variety of clinical drug-resistant isolates,coupled with the successful treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-infected skin wounds unequivocally validates the high efficiency and broad-spectrum activity of complex 5.Therefore,complex 5 emerges as a promising candidate for combating drug-resistant bacterial infections in clinic,and this work provides inspiration for developing new solutions to address the escalating global challenge of AMR.