(1) Abstract: 

This study designs a CoSe/Ti₃C₂ Schottky heterojunction surface-functionalized with taurine to construct the ERR-HJ nanobiomaterial. The material uses interfacial electric fields and band matching to achieve directional electron transfer, delivering H₂O₂-derived electrons to bacterial membranes in the infected microenvironment and interfering with the respiratory chain and energy metabolism. Meanwhile, the selenium–taurine interface regulates intracellular redox and endoplasmic reticulum stress, achieving dual functions of antibacterial action and tissue homeostasis restoration.

(2) Background: 

Infection-associated inflammatory microenvironments are often accompanied by oxidative stress and ER stress, which amplify each other into a pathological cycle. Conventional ROS-based antibacterial materials often sacrifice host redox balance and lack the ability to regulate cellular stress pathways. Heterojunction materials, with tunable band structures and interfacial charge behavior, provide a materials basis for simultaneously achieving interfacial electron transfer and biological stress regulation; however, systematic design coupling electron engineering with endogenous stress intervention remains lacking.

(3) Main Content: 

Ti₃C₂ MXene serves as a two-dimensional substrate for in situ growth of CoSe nanosheets to construct a Schottky heterojunction, followed by covalent taurine grafting via polydopamine chemistry. Interfacial characterization and theoretical calculations show that electron transfer from CoSe to Ti₃C₂ forms a built-in electric field and optimizes Co-site adsorption and activation of oxygen species. The material exhibits multienzyme-mimetic activity and scavenges ROS/RNS. On the antibacterial side, electrons are injected into the respiratory chain via bacterial heme, causing membrane depolarization and ATP depletion; on the host side, selenium metabolism activates selenoproteins such as GPX1 and suppresses the PERK-CHOP pathway.

(4) Study Design: 

From a materials perspective, synthesis parameter control, morphology and crystallographic characterization, XPS/EPR/electrochemical analysis, DFT band and interfacial charge calculations, and multi-enzyme kinetics were performed. At the biointerface level, antibacterial activity against planktonic bacteria and biofilms, bacterial transcriptomics and respiratory-chain function, as well as macrophage oxidative stress, ER stress, and osteogenic/osteoclast differentiation were evaluated. A rat periodontitis model was used for histological and micro-CT validation.

(5) Results: 

Interfacial electronic reconstruction enhanced electron acceptance and transfer. Antibacterial action was independent of ROS burst and instead disrupted the bacterial respiratory chain through electron stacking. Meanwhile, surface chemistry and selenium release coordinately activated selenoprotein metabolism, restored GSH/GSSG balance, suppressed PERK-CHOP, promoted M2 polarization and osteogenic differentiation, and inhibited osteoclast programs. In animal models, inflammation and alveolar bone loss were reduced, without obvious toxicity in the assays performed.

(6) Future Directions: 

This work provides a nanobiomaterial design paradigm of "interfacial electron engineering + endogenous stress regulation." Future work may focus on precise band-structure tuning, interfacial catalytic selectivity, material degradation and selenium release kinetics, respiratory-chain differences among bacterial species, and multispecies biofilm environments. The strategy may also be extended to other infection-associated inflammatory models to test the generality of its materials principles.

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