Sea urchin-like Bi 2 S 3 /curcumin heterojunction rapidly kills bacteria and promotes wound healing under near-infrared light.

Bacterial infection is an urgent public health problem. We design a novel photo-responsive hybrid material by growing small molecules of curcumin (Cur) in situ on a sea urchin-like Bi 2 S 3 surface by a one-step hydrothermal reaction method, thus forming an organic-inorganic hybrid material with interfacial contact. The Bi 2 S 3 /Cur hybrid material has good antibacterial effect under 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. The antibacterial mechanism is that the electron redistribution at the interface of Bi 2 S 3 /Cur excited by 808 nm NIR light will cause a large number of electrons to gather on the side of Bi 2 S 3 , forming an internal electric field to drive the excited electrons from Bi 2 S 3 to Cur, which accelerates the separation of photoexcited electron-hole pairs and enhances the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In conclusion, due to these synergistic effects of the photothermal properties of Bi 2 S 3 , the production of more ROS and the release of small molecules of Cur from traditional Chinese medicine in Bi 2 S 3 /Cur, the antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) is 99.96% and 99.03%, respectively. In vivo experiments in animals show that Bi 2 S 3 /Cur can reduce the inflammatory response and promote wound healing. This paper presents a simple, rapid and safe strategy for the treatment of wound infections with near-infrared light.