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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a critical global health challenge, posing
severe threats to patient outcomes and healthcare systems worldwide.¹ The indiscriminate and
often unwarranted use of antibiotics, including their administration for mild or non-bacterial
infections in clinical settings, as widely observed during the recent COVID-19 pandemic has
further exacerbated the AMR crisis.² In response, a wide range of antimicrobial strategies
have been explored, including cationic compounds, bacteriophages, antimicrobial peptides,
quantum dots, and polymeric systems.³ However, the practical implementation of these
approaches remains limited due to multi-step functionalization processes, high production
costs, and suboptimal antimicrobial efficacy. More recent alternatives, such as photodynamic
therapy (PDT) and water-soluble conjugated polymers, have also shown limited success,
primarily owing to their restricted broad-spectrum activity and inadequate biocompatibility.
Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop stable, cost-effective, and environmentally
benign antimicrobial materials capable of combating multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens.
In this context, we have developed a series of polymer-based nanoformulations that offer
distinct advantages in terms of cost efficiency while effectively inhibiting biofilm
formation.⁴ Notably, conjugated polymer nanostructures (CPNs) constitute a promising yet
underexplored class of nanomaterials for biomedical applications, whose intrinsic
antibacterial properties have largely remained unrecognized. We have recently demonstrated
a light-activated nanotherapeutic platform based on conjugated polymer nanofibers that
effectively suppress drug-resistant bacterial growth and prevent biofilm formation.⁵ - ⁷
Collectively, these findings represent light-activated CPNs as next-generation functionalized
polymer-based antimicrobial agents. |