Naringenin/Fe³⁺ nanoparticles encapsulated into extracellular-mimetic chitosan-based hydrogel as a potential...

Developing polysaccharide-based hydrogels with adhesive, self-healing, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties is highly desired in biomedical applications. In this work, a composite hydrogel was engineered between methionine-grafted chitosan (CS-Met) and oxidized quaternized pullulan (Opl-QCS) by Schiff base reaction. Naringenin/Fe³⁺ (NarFe³⁺) nanoparticles were prepared through Stöber method and further encapsulated into a hydrogel network, thus exhibiting exceptional antibacterial ability, with an achievement of 99% eradication rate against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Moreover, the hydrogels also demonstrated excellent antioxidant activity, tissue adhesion, self-healing capacity, and tailored rheological properties. Furthermore, when co-cultured with the hydrogel, NIH 3 T3 cell survival rates exceeded 80%, indicating remarkable biocompatibility. These findings confirmed that the composite hydrogels have strong potential for clinical applications in wound management.