Antibacterial agent conjugated sponges to increase hydrophilicity for enhancing hemostasis and infected wound healing

The development of wound dressings with rapid hemostasis and sustained antibacterial activity is a critical challenge in wound management. In this work, a new strategy for fabricating antibacterial and hemostatic sponges as dressings is reported. Antibacterial agent polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) was covalently bonded in the sponges via foaming. The introduction of PHMB improved the hydrophilicity and enhanced the hemostasis of sponges. The in vitro and in vivo evaluations in rat models of renal hemorrhage and tail amputation confirmed the exceptional hemostatic performance of sponges due to the cationic guanidine groups of PHMB, which promoted the adhesion and activation of red blood cells and platelets. The sponges demonstrated broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. In the full-thickness Staphylococcus aureus-infected wound models, the sponges exhibited the effective inhibition of bacterial infection and accelerated wound healing via facilitating re-epithelialization and collagen deposition.