Fig. 38. Schematic depiction of the mechanism of action of dual drug co-delivery and pathogen/alternating magnetic field (AMF)-responsive antimicrobial nanosystems constituted by the supramolecular co-assembly of heterogeneous MSNs. Host MSNs (H) are large-pore MSNs (MSNLP) loaded with melittin (MEL) and capped by β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-modified polyethylenimine (PEI). Guest MSNs (G) consisted of superparamagnetic nanoparticles coated with a mesoporous silica layer (MagNP@MSN), loaded with ofloxacin (OFL) and grafted to both adamantine (ADA) (to interact with β-CD on the surface of H) and N-(6-N-aminohexyl)aminomethyl triethoxysilane (AHAM) (to interact with cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6])) for efficient pore capping. Dual antimicrobial drug release is triggered by the presence of pathogenic cells and the application of an alternating magnetic field (AMF).⁷⁸¹ Adapted with permission from ref. 781. Copyright 2020, The American Chemical Society.