One-step construction of silver nanoparticles immersed hydrogels by triple-helix β-glucans and the application in...

Hydrogels composed of polysaccharides and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely recognized for their applications in wound dressings, particularly for healing wounds prone to infection. Traditional methods for preparing AgNPs immersed hydrogels are often complex, costly, and may lead to sustained cytotoxicity. To address these challenges, we developed a biocompatible, one-step green reduction strategy to generate AgNPs within hydrogels using a triple-helix β-glucan (PCPA) derived from Poria cocos, a renowned Chinese traditional herb. PCPA serves as a reducing agent, converting silver ions into AgNPs while its triple-helix conformation prevents AgNPs aggregation. The resulting hydrogel (PAg-G) is injectable and contains uniformly distributed AgNPs. PAg-G exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and enhanced bioactivity. The in vivo study on S.aureus-infected SD rats demonstrated that PAg-G can accelerate wound healing within 12 days by down-regulating inflammatory factors such as IL-6 and TNF-α, and up-regulating VEGF and CD31 expression, promoting neovascularization in wound tissues. This innovative one-step construction of AgNPs immersed hydrogels offers a promising approach for the development of antimicrobial hydrogels, especially for treating bacterial-infected wounds.