NIR-Activated Eutectic Gels Producing Centripetal Thermoelectric Currents and CO Release to Modulate...

Bacterial infection disrupts the transepithelial potential (TEP) and dysregulates the wound immune microenvironment, impairing tissue regeneration. However, current electrical stimulation strategies often lack stable directional output, wound-conformal integration, and simultaneous control over infection-associated inflammation. Here, we developed a near-infrared (NIR)-responsive eutectic gel (CBD, 1.25 S/m at 25°C) that generates centripetal thermoelectric stimulation and enables controlled carbon monoxide (CO) release under a single NIR input. Upon 808 nm NIR irradiation, CBD rapidly generated local temperature (∼15°C within 60 s), establishing a deeply penetrating centripetal electric field (response time < 1 s, current up to 3.0 µA) while enabling NIR-triggered CO release. In vitro, CBD exhibited potent antibacterial and antibiofilm activity, favorable cytocompatibility, and pro-migratory effects on repair-related cells. In a Staphylococcus aureus-infected rat wound model, CBD + NIR treatment markedly reduced bacterial burden, attenuated excessive inflammatory responses, and promoted calcium-associated regenerative signaling, as supported by transcriptomic enrichment and increased p-CaMKII/p-CREB expression. These effects were accompanied by enhanced keratinocyte and endothelial cell responses, angiogenesis, collagen deposition, and re-epithelialization, and alleviated tissue hypoxia. This study presents an energy-responsive gas-releasing eutectic gel platform for coordinating bioelectric, antibacterial, and immunoregulatory cures to accelerate infected wound repair.