Ultrasound activated herbal bio-heterojunctions for self-catalytic regulation and bacterial cuproptosis-like death in the treatment of implant infection.

ABSTRACT: Conventional antibiotic strategies often fail to consistently suppress escaping planktonic bacteria and even induce antibiotic resistance, allowing implant-associated infections (IAIs) to persist. In this study, we demonstrated an antibiotic-free coating engineered with an herbal bioheterojunction featuring a shell-in-shell structure where Cu₂O forms the core, strontium (Sr) is loaded in the inner shell, and curcumin (Cur) is nucleated in situ at the outer heterointerface (Cu₂O-Sr/Cur). Ultrasound-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by the outer heterostructure (Cu₂O/Cur), coupled with Cu(I)-induced cuproptosis-like bacterial death, achieved antibacterial rates of 99.56% against S. aureus and 99.43% against E. coli. When ultrasonication cease

SUBMITTER: Yue Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12446443 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature