Hierarchically structured hydrogel exhibiting spatiotemporal release profiles: Enabling digital remote diagnosis and...

Wound therapy has long been a complex challenge within the medical field. The parameters at the wound area change constantly, presenting a significant challenge in monitoring wound conditions for guiding drug release and enabling real-time therapy. Herein, a hierarchically structured hydrogel, composed of a supramolecular hydrogel with bactericidal activity and a polymer hydrogel promoting wound healing, was designed and fabricated using physical crosslinking method. This hierarchically structured hydrogel could serve as wound dressing. Specifically, physicochemical properties testing indicates that the hierarchically structured hydrogel exhibits tunable rheological property, high swelling and similar mechanical properties to human skin. The drug release in vitro proved that cephradine would be released quickly at pH 5.0 and hyaluronic acid would be dissociated easily at pH 7.5, aligning perfectly with the processes of wound disinfection and healing. Moreover, clinical animal experiments showed that the hierarchically structured hydrogel significantly enhances the granulation tissue thickness, improves vascularization and collagen deposition, thereby promoting wound healing more effectively than the commercial films. Notably, the hierarchically structured hydrogel's excellent conductivity and multiple stimulus response behaviors allow for real-time monitoring physiological environment of wounds and drug release, thereby promoting digital remote diagnosis and personalized treatment.