Bimetal phenolic networks-based alginate cryogel for rapid hemostasis and photothermal enhanced bimetallic chemodynamic therapy of wound infection

Abstract

Fe³⁺-based metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) have been employed for antibacterial photothermal therapy (PTT) enhanced chemodynamic therapy (CDT) owing to their good photothermal property and Fenton catalytic reactivity. However, their application in antibacterial therapy and wound healing was seriously limited by the lack of Fenton reaction efficiency and wound-healing-promoting capabilities. To address this challenge, we developed a sodium alginate (SA)-based cryogel (STCF) containing Fe³⁺/Cu²⁺-based bimetallic MPNs. The STCF cryogel was fabricated by co-crosslinking tannic acid (TA) and SA with both Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺, followed by lyophilization of the formed hydrogel. The integrated bimetallic MPNs could endow it with synergistic PTT/CDT. Additionally, the released Cu²⁺ could promote angiogenesis and contribute to tissue regeneration. In vitro antibacterial assays demonstrated its synergistic bactericidal efficacy, while in vivo hemostasis models and infected wound model proved its good hemostatic, antibacterial, and wound-healing-promoting effects. Therefore, through integrating bimetallic MPNs into the STCF cryogel, our study proposed a novel strategy to explore multifunctional wound dressings for treating infected wounds, which overcomes the challenges in wound care and infection management.