Copper-Hydrazide Coordinated Multifunctional Hyaluronan Hydrogels for Infected Wound Healing

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Wound Healing
• Hydrogel Technology

Background:

• Bacterial infections and delayed healing impede effective cutaneous wound management.
• Developing multifunctional hydrogels with antibacterial and prohealing properties is a promising strategy for wound dressings.
• Simple and facile fabrication of such advanced hydrogel dressings remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the development of hyaluronan (HA)-metal hydrogels via hydrazide-metal coordination crosslinking.
• To investigate a HA-Cu hydrogel as a wound dressing, leveraging the properties of HA and Copper (II).
• To demonstrate a simple and versatile approach for creating multifunctional hydrogels for wound healing.

Main Methods:

• Construction of HA-metal hydrogels through mixing hydrazided HA and metal ion solutions.
• Utilizing hydrazide-metal coordination crosslinking for hydrogel fabrication.
• Systematic investigation of a HA-Cu hydrogel for wound dressing applications, including assessment of its properties and efficacy.

Main Results:

• A novel hydrazide-Cu(II) coordination crosslinking method was established for facile HA-hydrogel fabrication.
• The dynamic coordination imparted multifunctions to the HA-Cu hydrogel, including self-healing, injectability, and triple responsiveness (pH/redox/ion pair).
• The HA-Cu hydrogel demonstrated broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and significantly accelerated infectious wound healing, with enhanced efficacy via glutathione-triggered hydroxyl radical generation.

Conclusions:

• The developed HA-Cu hydrogel serves as a clinically applicable "smart" dressing for multi-scenario wound healing.
• The simple and versatile coordination approach provides a new avenue for developing advanced multifunctional hydrogels.
• This technology shows significant potential in biomedicine, wearable devices, and soft robotics.