Chlorogenic Acid-Embedded Hydrogel for Visual pH Monitoring and Enhanced Antibacterial Performance.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Wound Healing Research
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Bacteria-infected wounds pose a significant global health challenge, hindering healing due to inflammation and lack of real-time monitoring.
• Conventional wound dressings are often single-functional and static, limiting their therapeutic efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multifunctional hydrogel dressing for infected wounds that integrates treatment and real-time monitoring capabilities.
• To create a low-cost, convenient alternative to existing wound care solutions.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a multifunctional hydrogel (HP@CGA) using methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HA-MA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), incorporating chlorogenic acid (CGA) and bromothymol blue (BTB).
• UV-induced polymerization to form a stable interpenetrating double-network structure.
• Evaluation of hydrogel properties including visual pH detection and antibacterial activity against *S. aureus* and *E. coli*.

Main Results:

• The HP@CGA hydrogel demonstrated visual pH detection in the range of 6.0-8.0 via color changes.
• Achieved excellent antibacterial rates of 99.9% ± 0.08% against both *S. aureus* and *E. coli*.
• The hydrogel provides antibacterial activity, inflammation alleviation, and real-time wound pH feedback.

Conclusions:

• The developed HP@CGA hydrogel offers multifunctional performance for infected wound healing.
• This hydrogel creates a favorable microenvironment for healing by inhibiting bacteria and monitoring pH.
• Highlights the potential of HP@CGA hydrogel for precise and intelligent wound care applications.