Treatment of MRSA-infected osteomyelitis using bacterial capturing, magnetically targeted composites with microwave-assisted bacterial killing

Owing to the poor penetration depth of light, phototherapy, including photothermal and photodynamic therapies, remains severely ineffective in treating deep tissue infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected osteomyelitis. Here, we report a microwave-excited antibacterial nanocapturer system for treating deep tissue infections that consists of microwave-responsive Fe₃O₄/CNT and the chemotherapy agent gentamicin (Gent). This system, Fe₃O₄/CNT/Gent, is proven to efficiently target and eradicate MRSA-infected rabbit tibia osteomyelitis. Its robust antibacterial effectiveness is attributed to the precise bacteria-capturing ability and magnetic targeting of the nanocapturer, as well as the subsequent synergistic effects of precise microwaveocaloric therapy from Fe₃O₄/CNT and chemotherapy from the effective release of antibiotics in infection sites. The advanced target-nanocapturer of microwave-excited microwaveocaloric-chemotherapy with effective targeting developed in this study makes a major step forward in microwave therapy for deep tissue infections.