Antioxidant and antibacterial hydrogel formed by protocatechualdehyde-ferric iron complex and aminopolysaccharide for infected wound healing

Abstract

To better treat bacteria-infected wounds and promote healing, new wound dressings must be developed. In this study, we obtained PA@Fe by chelating iron trivalent ions (Fe³⁺) with protocatechualdehyde (PA), which has a catechol structure. Subsequently, we reacted it with ethylene glycol chitosan (GC) via a Schiff base reaction and loaded vancomycin to obtain an antibacterial Gel@Van hydrogel with a photothermal response. The as-prepared Gel@Van hydrogel exhibited good injectability, self-healing, hemostasis, photothermal stability, biocompatibility, and antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Moreover, Gel@Van hydrogel achieved highly synergistic antibacterial efficacy through photothermal and antibiotic sterilization. In a mouse skin-damaged infection model, Gel@Van hydrogel had a strong ability to promote the healing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected wounds, indicating the great potential application value of Gel@Van hydrogel in the field of treating and promoting the healing of infected wounds.

Keywords: Antibacterial hydrogel; Hemostasis; Photothermal antibacterial; Self-healing; Wound healing.