NIR-driven dual enzyme-like activity of CuS@CeO modified thermally enhanced hydrogel for antibacterial therapy and wound healing.

In bacterial wound healing, continuous controlled oxygen delivery to injured tissue, coupled with bacterial elimination and inflammation reduction, is crucial for promoting tissue regeneration and repair. To address this, we designed a multimodal synergistic treatment strategy based on nanozymes to enable oxygen-controlled release while achieving antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. We developed a polydopamine-hyaluronic acid (PDA-HA) hydrogel composite system incorporating CuS NPs and CeO₂ nanozymes. Under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, this system exhibited enhanced photothermal performance while enabling switchable O and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The hydrogel (termed PHCC) exhibited dual enzyme-mimic activity (peroxidase-mimic and catalase-mimic), decomposing HO into either O or hydroxyl radicals (•OH) to regulate the infection microenvironment. Additionally, photothermal therapy (PTT) was employed to enhance the dual enzyme-mimic catalytic activity through photon-induced hyperthermia. This was achieved by utilizing the ideal light absorption of the second near-infrared window of CuS NPs and the hydrogel skeleton component PDA. Both in vivo wound healing and in vitro antibacterial experiments demonstrated that photothermally enhanced ROS-mediated treatment efficiency was significantly improved. This study provides a reference for the synergistic treatment of hyperthermia-enhanced multi-enzyme activity of nanozymes to remove bacteria and promote wound healing.