A quaternized chitosan-based biomimetic hydrogel: Integrating barrier and regulatory functions for post-traumatic...

Burn wound management is plagued by inadequate pain control and high infection risks. Conventional smart hydrogels often suffer from compromised mechanical integrity, unstable adhesion, and burst drug release upon stimulation. Inspired by the sucker morphology and secretion-based adhesion of remora that withstands turbulent marine environments, we design a novel remora-inspired hydrogel dressing. It integrates quaternized chitosan (QCS), sodium p-styrene sulfonate (VBS), hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP), and a newly synthesized mimicry monomer (EI) to confer environmentally stable mechanical properties, pH-responsive adhesion, and self-feedback drug release. In vitro, the hydrogel exhibited potent antibacterial efficacy (>95% bacterial killing), significant ROS scavenging (>90%), and accelerated fibroblast migration (80% scratch closure in 24 h) with excellent biosafety. In burn model, the hydrogel achieved effective hemostasis (76.4% blood loss reduction), profound analgesia (75% pain reduction), and accelerated wound closure (98% within 15 days) by alleviating inflammation, promoting angiogenesis, and facilitating granulation tissue formation. The PHNSQ-EI@NL hydrogel developed in this study successfully integrated potent analgesic effects, synergistic antibacterial/anti-inflammatory properties, and stable physical barrier functions, making it a highly promising multifunctional dressing.