Layered Black Phosphorus Nanoflakes Reduce Bacterial Burden and Enhance Healing of Murine Infected Wounds

Current treatment modalities of cutaneous wound infections are largely ineffective, attributed to the increasing burden of antimicrobial resistance. S. aureus, a commonly wound-associated pathogen continues to pose a clinical challenge, suggesting that new alternative therapeutic materials are urgently required to provide optimal treatment. A layered allotrope of phosphorus termed Black Phosphorus nanoflakes (BPNFs) has emerged as a potential alternative antibacterial material. However, wider deployment of this material requires extensive biological validation using the latest pre-clinical models to understand its role in wound management. Here, the antibacterial potential of BPNFs against wound pathogens demonstrates over 99% killing efficiency at ambient conditions, while remaining non-toxic to mammalian skin cells. In addition, in vivo validation of BPNFs using a preclinical model of S. aureus acute wound infection demonstrates that daily topical application significantly reduces infection (3-log reduction) comparable to ciprofloxacin antibiotic control. Furthermore, the application of BPNFs also accelerates wound closure, increases wound re-epithelization, and reduces tissue inflammation compared to controls, suggesting a potential role in alleviating the current challenges of infected cutaneous wounds. For the first time, this study demonstrates the potential role of BPNFs in ambient light conditions for clearing a clinically relevant wound infection with favorable wound healing properties.