A rational design of copper-selenium nanoclusters that cures sepsis by consuming endogenous HS to trigger photothermal therapy and ROS burst.

The treatment of sepsis caused by bacterial infections is still a huge clinical challenge. As sepsis causes high levels of endogenous HS , researchers can design nanomedicines to treat sepsis by sulfurization. Here, we designed and synthesized CuO-coated non-metallic core-shell selenium nanoparticles. To cure mice sepsis by ROS burst. Our experimental data displayed that the photothermal effect of Se@CuS produced by the reaction of Se@CuO and endogenous HS is synergistically antibacterial, and Se@CuO has the characteristics of low side effects and high biocompatibility. In summary, our research results verified our design, that copper-selenium nanoclusters may be an efficient strategy to cure sepsis by sulfurization of endogenous HS, triggering ROS eruptions and photothermal therapy.