Fungal infections caused by Candida albicans and related pathogenic fungi are threatening the health of millions of people worldwide. Natural antimicrobial peptides are promising candidates for antimicrobial therapy, but their application is compromised by their toxicity to mammalian cells. In this study, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 nanosheets (ZM), the fungus-targeting lactoferrin (LFP), and the model antimicrobial peptide melittin (Mel) were co-assembled to form ternary nanocomposites by electrostatic interaction for treating pathogenic fungal infections. The results showed that the ternary nanocomposites ZM+LFP+Mel exhibited strong inhibitory activity against growth of the fungal pathogen C. albicans and had stronger capacity to eradicate fungal biofilms than free Mel. The in vivo mice wound model further showed that the nanocomposites had excellent anti-infection ability and drastically promoted wound healing. This study provides a facile strategy to detoxify antimicrobial peptides and to enhance its antimicrobial efficiency for biomedical application.

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

---

由 2-甲基咪唑锌骨架、乳铁蛋白和蜂毒肽组成的三元纳米复合材料的合成用于抗真菌治疗

由白色念珠菌和相关致病真菌引起的真菌感染正威胁着全世界数百万人的健康。天然抗菌肽是抗菌治疗的有希望的候选者，但它们的应用受到其对哺乳动物细胞的毒性的影响。在这项研究中，沸石咪唑酯骨架 8 纳米片 (ZM)、真菌靶向乳铁蛋白 (LFP) 和模型抗菌肽蜂毒肽 (Mel) 通过静电相互作用共同组装形成三元纳米复合材料，用于治疗病原真菌感染。结果表明，三元纳米复合材料ZM+LFP+Mel对真菌病原体白色念珠菌的生长具有较强的抑制活性，并且比游离Mel具有更强的根除真菌生物膜的能力。这体内小鼠伤口模型进一步表明，纳米复合材料具有优异的抗感染能力，可显着促进伤口愈合。本研究提供了一种简便的策略来解毒抗菌肽并提高其在生物医学应用中的抗菌效率。

图形概要