A polyphenol and ε-polylysine functionalized bacterial cellulose/PVA multifunctional hydrogel for wound healing

Hydrogels for wound dressings have recently attracted considerable attention in the field of biomedical materials. Developing hydrogel dressings with multiple functions, including good antibacterial, mechanical and adhesive properties, to enhance wound regeneration is significant for clinical applications. To this end, a novel hydrogel wound dressing (PB-EPL/TA@BC) was developed, which was prepared by incorporating bacterial cellulose (BC) modified with tannic acid and ε-polylysine (EPL) into a PVA and borax matrix through a simple method without introducing any other chemical reagents. The hydrogel exhibited good adhesion (8.8 ± 0.2 kPa) to porcine skin, and the mechanical properties were significantly improved after adding BC. Meanwhile, it showed good inhibition against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (84.1 ± 2.6 %, 86.0 ± 2.3 % and 80.7 ± 4.5 %) in vitro and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in vivo without the use of antibiotics, ensuring that the process of wound repair with a sterile environment. The hydrogel also presented good cytocompatibility and biocompatibility and could achieve hemostasis within 120 s. The in vivo experiments indicated that hydrogel could not only instantly complete hemostasis of the injured liver models but also obviously promote wound healing in a full-thickness skin. Furthermore, the hydrogel accelerated wound healing process by reducing inflammation promoting collagen deposition compared with commercial Tegaderm™ films. Therefore, the hydrogel is a promising high-end dressing material for wound hemostasis and repair for to enhance the wound healing.