"All-in-one" self-healing and injectable cationic guar gum hydrogel dressing functionalized by bioactive complexes...

Reducing the risk of wound infection is an urgent issue health priority. Antibacterial polysaccharide-based hydrogels have attracted great attention for infectious wounds, attributed to their safe antimicrobial performance and natural non-toxicity and biodegradability advantages. In this study, the "all-in-one" self-adaptive and injectable cationic guar gum (CG)-based polysaccharide hydrogels (FA-TOB/CG) loaded with bioactive complexes were developed for infectious wound healing. The constructed antioxidant and antibacterial ferulic acid (FA)-tobramycin (TOB) bioactive complexes (FA-TOB) were used as the cross-linking agent and introduced into the CG matrix to construct the FA-TOB/CG hydrogel with a three-dimensional porous structure. The sterilization rates of FA-TOB/CG hydrogel against S. aureus and E. coli reached 98 % and 80 % respectively. In addition, the FA-TOB/CG also exhibits enhanced antioxidant performances (DPPH: > 40 %; ABTS: > 90 %; ·OH: > 50 %). More importantly, FA-TOB/CG hydrogel also showed the ability to sustain the release of FA and TOB. These superiorities of the FA-TOB/CG hydrogel enabled it to provide a moist wound environment and promote wound healing by eliminating bacteria, modulating the local inflammatory response, and accelerating collagen deposition and vascular regeneration. Thus, this study may enlarge a new sight for developing multifunctional dressings by incorporating bioactive complexes into polysaccharide hydrogels for infected wounds.