Mesoporous Silica-coated Gold Nanorods Loaded with Tetrazolyl Phthalocyanine as NIR Light-activated Nano-switch for Synergistic Photothermal and Photodynamic Inactivation of Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli

A light-controlled nano-switch was prepared by assembling mesoporous silica-coated gold nanorods with bis-(1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-mercapto-tetrazolyl) silicon(IV) phthalocyanines, which exhibited excellent triple functions with controlled release of phthalocyanines and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as temperature enhancement under laser irradiation. The nano-switch achieved an effective antimicrobial activity against a variety of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli strains through synergistic photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy by damaging the genomic DNA and enzyme activity of bacteria.