Thermoresponsive Adhesive Hydrogel Enabling Dynamic Adhesion Switching for Diabetic Chronic Wound Healing

Diabetic chronic wounds are characterized by persistent inflammation, oxidative stress, increased susceptibility to bacterial infection, and impaired tissue regeneration, which collectively hinder wound repair. Hydrogel dressings have emerged as promising candidates for chronic wound management; however, achieving stable tissue adhesion for wound protection while enabling gentle removal during dressing replacement remains challenging. Although stimuli-responsive adhesive hydrogels have been developed to achieve on-demand debonding, their reliance on external chemical triggers and limited adaptability in complex wound environments restrict their further application. Herein, we developed a thermoresponsive multifunctional hydrogel dressing (HG-CT@Al) that integrates dynamic adhesion regulation with wound microenvironment modulation through a one-pot photopolymerization strategy. The NIPAM/AAm/AA copolymer network endowed HG-CT@Al with temperature-responsive adhesion switching, while the chitosan (CS) semi-interpenetrating network and dynamic coordination interactions between tea polyphenols (TP) and Al3+ enhanced structural stability and provided antibacterial and antioxidant functions. By optimizing the network composition, HG-CT@Al maintained strong tissue adhesion at physiological temperature (35 °C, 167.22 N/m) and reduced adhesion strength after mild heating (45 °C, 97.99 N/m), enabling on-demand gentle debonding. Meanwhile, HG-CT@Al exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus (99.65 and 99.69%, respectively) and strong antioxidant capacity (95.61% DPPH radical-scavenging efficiency). In a full-thickness diabetic wound model, HG-CT@Al significantly accelerated wound closure and promoted re-epithelialization, collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and M2 macrophage early enrichment. This study presents a multifunctional hydrogel strategy integrating temperature-responsive dynamic adhesion regulation and wound microenvironment modulation, providing an effective approach for diabetic chronic wound management.