Multifunctional FeSN nanozyme-doped hydrogel: A promising strategy for antibacterial therapy and wound repair

Nanozymes have emerged as a promising alternative to antibiotics owing to their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and reduced risk of inducing drug resistance. However, their application in bacterial inhibition is often hindered by limited catalytic activity and an inability to capture bacteria effectively. In this study, we developed an adhesive gelatin (Gel) composite hydrogel embedded with polyphenol-crosslinked iron-based nanozymes (FeSN-PA-Gel), which not only demonstrate the activities of peroxidase (POD), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase (NOx) and glutathione (GSH) oxidase, but also exhibits good bacterial adhesion property. Therefore, the incorporation of highly catalytic activity of antibacterial nanozymes within an adhesive Gel hydrogel matrix resulted in a highly effective system for bacterial inhibition. In vivo evaluations using infected wound models in mice demonstrated that this novel nanozyme-infused Gel hydrogel presents strong potential for advanced wound care applications.