NIR-Responsive Free Standing Borophene Mediates Photothermal and Photodynamic Therapy to Reduce Bacterial Biofilm Burden

Bacterial biofilms in open clinical wounds drive persistent infections, antibiotic resistance, and chronic inflammation, posing significant treatment challenges. Traditional therapies, including surgical debridement and antibiotics, are increasingly ineffective due to resistant strains. Light-activatable photosensitizers offer promise but are limited by poor tissue penetration and rapid photobleaching, especially in the UV/visible spectrum. Here, we introduce free-standing borophene nanosheets (B NSs) as a photoactivatable nanomaterial operating within the NIR-I and NIR-II biological windows. The B NSs demonstrate high photothermal conversion efficiencies (∼32% in NIR-I, 26.3% in NIR-II) and efficiently generate singlet oxygen under NIR irradiation. Functionally, B NSs effectively inhibit biofilm formation and eradicate mature biofilms ex vivo, while exhibiting minimal toxicity in vivo in a zebrafish model. These findings highlight B NSs as a promising, noninvasive approach for combating antibiotic-resistant biofilms with potential for clinical translation. © 2025 American Chemical Society