Rewiring diabetic abscess microenvironment for healing via CeMo-mediated photothermal antibacterial, ROS scavenging and immunomodulatory

Diabetic abscesses represent a severe and challenging complication of chronic wounds, characterized by impaired healing due to hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress, persistent inflammation, and susceptibility to infection. Despite advances in wound care, effective therapeutic strategies that simultaneously address these multifactorial pathologies remain lacking. Herein, we developed cerium molybdate nanoparticles (CeMo) through a green one-pot method as multifunctional therapeutic platforms for diabetic abscess treatment. CeMo exhibited dual enzyme-mimetic activities, serving as superoxide dismutase and catalase to catalytically eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS) with over 90% scavenging efficiency at 100 μg/mL. Furthermore, they demonstrated exceptional photothermal conversion efficiency with a 30% conversion efficiency under 808 nm laser irradiation, enabling effective disruption of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In vitro studies validated their ability to alleviate oxidative stress, facilitate macrophage polarization from pro-inflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. In a diabetic murine abscess model, CeMo synergistically combined stable photothermal antibacterial activity, broad-spectrum ROS scavenging capability, and efficient immunomodulation to accelerate wound closure, achieving 90% healing within 12 days versus 35% in controls, while promoting collagen deposition and tissue remodeling. This work presents a promising strategy for managing infected diabetic wounds through multimodal microenvironment reprogramming. • Green one-pot synthesis of multifunctional CeMo nanoparticles with dual enzyme-like activities (SOD and CAT) and high photothermal performance. • Broad-spectrum ROS scavenging via cascade catalytic activity effectively alleviates the oxidative stress microenvironment in diabetic abscesses. • Efficient photothermal antibacterial and immunomodulatory effects of CeMo enables MRSA eradication and promotes M1-to-M2 macrophage polarization to remodel the inflammatory microenvironment. • Remarkable in vivo healing of diabetic abscesses with promoted collagen deposition and tissue regeneration, along with good systemic biosafety.