Electroactive Sodium Alginate-Based Hydrogel Textile for Synergistic Antibacterial and Regenerative Therapy in...

Diabetic wound healing poses a significant clinical challenge due to high blood glucose, infection susceptibility, and impaired regeneration. However, current film-based hydrogel dressings often have limited gas permeability that restricts oxygen diffusion and may cause inflammation with prolonged use. This investigation presents an electroactive sodium alginate (SA)-based hydrogel textile through the synergistic effect of tannic acid (TA)-mediated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersion and antibacterial properties. The dressing exhibits a skin-mimicking electrical conductivity of 0.107 S/m and remarkable broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, achieving an inhibition rate of over 99% against both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Significantly, its antibacterial effect is achieved without relying on photothermal effects or antibiotic release, effectively avoiding thermal injury and drug resistance risks. In vivo experiments demonstrate that the hydrogel dressing can notably decrease the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β at the wound site, stimulate collagen deposition, and accelerate epithelialization. As a result, it enables over 99% closure of diabetic wounds within 18 days. This woven dressing provides a promising new design and preparation strategy, holding great potential for improving the clinical treatment of diabetic wounds.