Injectable hydrogel composed of hydrophobically modified chitosan/oxidized-dextran for wound healing

An injectable hydrogel dressing with multifunctional properties of superior hemostasis, antibacterial activity, tissue adhesive and cytocompatibility is desirable candidate in wound healing. In this study, we developed a novel hydrogel dressing composed of hydrophobically modified chitosan (hmCS) and oxidized dextran (OD). The gelation time, microstructure, injectability, self-healing and rheological properties were characterized. The in vitro ability of the precursor solution of the hydrogels to coagulate heparinized whole blood was confirmed. The in vivo hemostatic activity was demonstrated in a rat hemorrhaging liver model. The antibacterial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa was evaluated in vitro through surface antibacterial test. The corresponding killing efficiencies were up to 95.0% and 96.4% at bacterial concentration of 10⁸ CFU/mL. The cytotoxicity was examined by co-culturing with 3 T3 fibroblast cells. The wound healing functions were further verified with an infected wound model of rat skin. The aforementioned findings demonstrated that the hydrogel with multifunctional activities has potential for hemorrhagic and infected wound healing.