AIE-active anthraquinone-derived sonosensitizers with enhanced reactive oxygen species generation for ultrasonic biofilm eradication

Abstract

The development of highly efficient and biosafe sonosensitizers remains a significant challenge for sonodynamic antibacterial therapy. Herein, we report a novel class of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active anthraquinone-derived sonosensitizers (AQ and EQ) engineered to overcome aggregation-caused quenching limitations. Through rational molecular design featuring twisted donor–acceptor–donor architectures and rotor-integrated anthraquinone cores, these sensitizers exhibit exceptional reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation capabilities under low-intensity ultrasound irradiation. Nano-formulation with the biocompatible phospholipid DPPC further enhanced dispersibility and biofilm penetration capacity. The optimized sonosensitizer AQ@DPPC and EQ@DPPC demonstrated remarkable antibacterial efficacy, achieving outstanding eradication of both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) biofilms at low concentrations (15 µM). This work establishes a new paradigm for designing AIE-enhanced organic sonosensitizers and provides a robust platform for ultrasound-activated antimicrobial applications, with significant potential for translation into non-thermal sterilization technologies.