Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (7): 100223.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2025.100223

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Schottky junction phototherapy mediated by graphene quantum dots for superior antibacterial performance and rapid wound healing

Jiangting Li1,2,3, Feng Ouyang1,3,4, Qiang Wang1,2,3, Shang Zhou1,2,3, Xixu Bao1,2,3, Yaqi Cheng1,2,3, Yifei Yang1,2,3, Pei Chen1,2,3, Yipeng Chen1,3,4, Jiye Zhang5, Liang Wang6,*(), Haijian Zhong1,2,3,*()   

  1. 1 Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Tissue Engineering, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi Province, China
    2 School of Medical Information Engineering, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi Province, China
    3 Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Ministry of Education, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi Province, China
    4 School of Basic Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi Province, China
    5 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
    6 Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
  • Received:2025-09-01 Revised:2025-11-17 Accepted:2025-11-20 Published:2026-05-22
  • Contact: Email: wangl@shu.edu.cn (Liang Wang)Hjzhong2007@gmu.edu.cn (Haijian Zhong)

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Abstract:

The growing threat of antibiotic-resistant infections calls for advanced non-invasive therapeutic strategies. Herein, we construct a Schottky junction-based nanocomposite composed of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs), where GOQDs serve as multifunctional building blocks to synergistically enhance both photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) under 460 nm LED irradiation. GOQDs not only facilitate charge separation and transfer for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, but also improve photothermal conversion due to their broad optical absorption and high electron mobility. Moreover, their abundant surface functional groups enhance dispersion, biocompatibility, and tissue affinity. The as-prepared AuNPs/GOQDs nanocomposites exhibit excellent dispersion stability, enhanced photothermal and ROS output, and superior biocompatibility. In vitro antibacterial assays demonstrate > 97% bacterial eradication efficiency against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. More importantly, in a murine wound infection model, the nanocomposite enables ~99% wound healing within 9 days, significantly outperforming control treatments. Histological analysis further confirms accelerated tissue regeneration with reduced inflammation. This study highlights the critical function of GOQDs in amplifying light-triggered antibacterial activity and accelerating wound healing, offering a promising strategy for clinical phototherapy against multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Key words: Graphene oxide quantum dots, Antibacterial, AuNPs, Schottky junction, Combined phototherapy