Anti-Infective Polyurethane Dressings via Ultrafast Laser Micro/Nanostructuring

Bacteria-associated wound infections lead to life-threatening complications such as systemic inflammatory response (SIRS) or septic shock. Even though affordable and permeable polyurethane (PU) dressings are widely used in clinical practice, their pure shielding function appears ineffective for contaminated wounds. Herein, an ultrafast laser is utilized to fabricate micro/nanostructures in PU dressings to significantly enhance drug loading capacity. In contrast to untreated areas, the laser direct writing with spatiotemporal regulation method enhances the drug loading capacity by 61 times. The anti-infective capability is demonstrated by embedding clindamycin within the PU films, indicating that laser-induced micro/nanostructured PU dressings (PU-MS) not only exhibit stable mechanical properties and biocompatiability, but also produce an obvious inhibition zone of Staphylococcus aureus in vitro. Furthermore, a rat skin wound infection model verified that PU-MS can effectively prevent bacteria-associated wound infection and SIRS, promoting wound healing. The results show that PU-MS offers considerable potential for various clinical applications, providing a new strategy for the development of advanced medical dressings.