Quasi-HKUST-1 Nanostructures with Enhanced Catalytic Activity and Water Stability for Bacteria-Infected Diabetic Wound Therapy

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a type of nanomaterial, are generating increasing interest in mimicking the structure and function of natural enzymes for sensors and therapeutics. Their catalytic and therapeutic efficiencies, however, are subpar due to their limited catalytic activity and structural stability. Quasi-MOFs (Q-MOFs) exhibit improved metal-carrier interactions and provide synergistic catalysis by exposing inorganic nodes to the object species while retaining a portion of the porous structure of MOFs. In this work, a quasi-Cu-based metal-organic framework was designed to improve bacteria-infected diabetic wound therapy. A series of quasi-HKUST-1 (QHKUST-1) that were created from the low-temperature calcination of HKUST-1 were used for the initial catalytic reaction. Then, the optimal QHKUST-1 has enhanced peroxidase activity to catalyze H2O2 to generate hydroxyl groups for antibacterial therapy. Comparing the previously water-sensitive HKUST-1 to the enhanced moisture stability and catalytic capabilities of QHKUST-1. Furthermore, cell migration experiments demonstrate that QHKUST-1 can promote cell migration more effectively than HKUST-1. Finally, animal experiments indicated that QHKUST-1 can effectively facilitate bacteria-infected diabetic wound healing with good antibacterial activity and biocompatibility. This work highlights the potential of Q-MOF for antibacterial therapy and shows significant promise for the future management of bacterially infected wounds.