Oxygen-Vacancy-Rich Monolayer BiO 2-X Nanosheets for Bacterial Sepsis Management via Dual Physically Antibacterial and Chemically Anti-inflammatory Functions.

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Effective treatment of bacterial sepsis remains challenging due to the rapid progression of infection and the systemic inflammatory response. In this study, we successfully synthesized monolayer BiO 2-X nanosheets (BiO 2-X NSs) with oxygen-rich vacancies through sonication-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation. Herein, the BiO 2-X NSs exhibited a novel nanozyme-enabled intervention strategy for the management of bacterial sepsis, based on its pH dependent dual antibacterial and anti-inflammatory functions. BiO 2-X NSs exhibit effective antibacterial by utilizing oxidase (OXD)-like activity. Additionally, BiO 2-X NSs can scavenge multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitigate systemic hyperinflammation by mimicking superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). These dual capabilities of BiO 2-X NSs allow them to address bacterial infection, proinflammatory cytokines secretion and ROS burst collaboratively, effectively reversing the progression of bacterial sepsis. In vivo experiments have demonstrated that BiO 2-X NSs significantly reduce bacterial burden, attenuate systemic hyperinflammation, and rapidly rescued organ damage. Importantly, no obvious adverse effects were observed at the administered dose of BiO 2-X NSs. This study presents a novel defect engineering strategy for the rational design of high-performance nanozymes and development of new nanomedicines for managing bacterial sepsis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.