Surface amorphization oxygen vacancy-rich porous Sn3Ox nanosheets for boosted photoelectrocatalytic bacterial inactivation

Marlieke de Kraker and colleagues reflect on the need for better global estimates for the burden of antimicrobial resistance.

The global scale-up in demand for animal protein is the most notable dietary trend of our time. Antimicrobial consumption in animals is threefold that of humans and has enabled large-scale animal protein production. The consequences for the development of antimicrobial resistance in animals have received comparatively less attention than in humans. We analyzed 901 point prevalence surveys of pathogens in developing countries to map resistance in animals. China and India represented the largest hotspots of resistance, with new hotspots emerging in Brazil and Kenya. From 2000 to 2018, the proportion of antimicrobials showing resistance above 50% increased from 0.15 to 0.41 in chickens and from 0.13 to 0.34 in pigs. Escalating resistance in animals is anticipated to have important consequences for animal health and, eventually, for human health.

In view of increasing drug resistance, ecofriendly photoelectrical materials are promising alternatives to antibiotics. Here we design an interfacial Schottky junction of Bi2S3/Ti3C2T x resulting from the contact potential difference between Ti3C2T x and Bi2S3. The different work functions induce the formation of a local electrophilic/nucleophilic region. The self-driven charge transfer across the interface increases the local electron density on Ti3C2T x . The formed Schottky barrier inhibits the backflow of electrons and boosts the charge transfer and separation. The photocatalytic activity of Bi2S3/Ti3C2T x intensively improved the amount of reactive oxygen species under 808 nm near-infrared radiation. They kill 99.86% of Staphylococcus aureus and 99.92% of Escherichia coli with the assistance of hyperthermia within 10 min. We propose the theory of interfacial engineering based on work function and accordingly design the ecofriendly photoresponsive Schottky junction using two kinds of components with different work functions to effectively eradicate bacterial infection.