Ex Situ Luring Sterilization and Visual Tracking for Wound Healing Acceleration

Conventional sterilization methods, such as advanced oxidation and cationic antimicrobial action, inevitably cause harm to host tissues because of their in situ attack mode. The residual bacterial debris further increases the risk of secondary infection. Additionally, the inability to track the sterilization process in real time hampers precise wound management. Herein, a hydrogel-based platform that performs ex situ luring and elimination of bacteria, integrated with real-time visual tracking of single bacteria, was established. Therein, a bacterial chemoattractant is embedded within a density functional theory optimized hydrogel framework. By employing a hydrogel-microfluidic device, a stable spatial gradient of chemical stimuli was established, enabling the visual monitoring of the 4D chemotactic movement of single bacteria. The results indicated that 56.4% of the bacteria are lured away within 4.5 min. 99.99% of the bacteria are killed, while the positively charged hydrogel removes the residual bacterial debris, minimizing the secondary infection risk and doubling the wound healing rate.