Bactericidal effects and accelerated wound healing using Tb(4)O(7) nanoparticles with intrinsic oxidase-like activity

BACKGROUND: Nanomaterials that exhibit intrinsic enzyme-like characteristics have shown great promise as potential antibacterial agents. However, many of them exhibit inefficient antibacterial activity and biosafety problems that limit their usefulness. The development of new nanomaterials with good biocompatibility and rapid bactericidal effects is therefore highly desirable. Here, we show a new type of terbium oxide nanoparticles (Tb(4)O(7) NPs) with intrinsic oxidase-like activity for in vitro and in vivo antibacterial application. RESULTS: We find that Tb(4)O(7) NPs can quickly oxidize a series of organic substrates in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. The oxidase-like capacity of Tb(4)O(7) NPs allows these NPs to consume antioxidant biomolecules and generate reactive oxygen species to disable bacteria in vitro. Moreover, the in vivo experiments showed that Tb(4)O(7) NPs are efficacious in wound-healing and are protective of normal tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal that Tb(4)O(7) NPs have intrinsic oxidase-like activity and show effective antibacterial ability both in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate that Tb(4)O(7) NPs are effective antibacterial agents and may have a potential application in wound healing. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12951-019-0487-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.