A multifunctional hydrogel dressing with antibacterial properties for effective wound healing

Abstract

We have developed a multifunctional hydrogel dressing (denoted as dressing-2 : 1) using silver-doped yolk-like nickel sulfide (Ag(8.5%)@NiS_2−x), polyacrylamide (PAM), and chitosan (CS). Ag(8.5%)@NiS_2−x has tremendous potential in antibacterial applications mainly due to the following advantages: (i) it has excellent optical absorption in the 200–2500 nm range and can be combined with near-infrared laser for photothermal therapy; (ii) it possesses peroxidase characteristic, which can catalyze low-concentration hydrogen peroxide to produce highly effective bactericidal hydroxyl radicals; (iii) silver doping gives it the ability to destroy the inherent components of bacteria. Moreover, the PAM/CS hydrogel can adsorb both bacteria and inflammatory secretions, enhancing the sterilization ability of Ag(8.5%)@NiS_2−x and promoting tissue healing. Our work highlights the great potential of dressing-2 : 1 as a multifunctional hydrogel dressing for effective antibacterial wound healing.