Jun 2026· International Journal of Biological Macromolecules· Vol 378, pp.
153229
· 0 citations· 61 references
Medicine
TL;DR
A multifunctional hydrogel fabricated from carboxymethyl chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, and sodium alginate via a freeze-thaw cycle method exhibits considerable promise as a therapeutic material for accelerating wound healing.
Abstract
Hydrogels, due to their excellent properties, were widely noted and held great potential for application in wound healing. However, conventional wound dressings are limited by insufficient antioxidant and antibacterial properties, which restricted their effectiveness in treating infected wounds. In this study, a multifunctional hydrogel (PCS/Cur@Fe&TA) was fabricated from carboxymethyl chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, and sodium alginate via a freeze-thaw cycle method to evaluate its potential as a wound dressing. The hydrogel incorporated nanocomplex composed of curcumin, tannic acid, and Fe3+, which endowed the material with enhanced antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The resulting hydrogel exhibited excellent swelling capacity (400-800%) and water holding capacity (>62%), and a good degradation rate, enabling it to maintain a moist microenvironment conducive to wound healing. Moreover, after hydrogel treatment, the cell viability remained >80%, >99% hemocompatibility (hemolysis rate < 1%), and significantly enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities (P < 0.05). The hydrogel showed marked antibacterial activity, with inhibition zones of 1.03 cm against E. coli and 0.61 cm against S. aureus. Overall, the developed hydrogel exhibits considerable promise as a therapeutic material for accelerating wound healing.
The self-adaptive sprayable hydrogel dressing developed in this work integrates rapid molding, broad-spectrum antibacterial, antioxidant, and healing-promoting functions, offering a promising new strategy for the effective treatment of complex clinical wounds.
Jinyu Shan, Xinru Wang, Jie Zhang et al.· International Journal of Bio...· 0 citations
Animal experiments revealed enhanced collagen deposition and angiogenesis, together with 98.8% wound closure by day 12, and offer an alternative route for designing intelligent dressings for diabetic wounds.
Jingyi Shi, Zijin Yan, Weizhong Yuan et al.· International Journal of Bio...· 0 citations
A polyacrylic acid/polyvinyl alcohol composite hydrogel fabricated via self‐catalyzed free radical polymerization, with borax serving as the reinforcing phase, achieves synergistic antibacterial and intelligent responsive therapeutic performances, providing a reliable and high‐efficiency candidate for advanced wound care and next‐generation wound dressing applications.
Lin-Han Hu, Zheng Yang, Xinwei Tao et al.· Macromolecular Bioscience· 0 citations
Stable hydrogel formation with favorable porous architecture, swelling behavior, thermal stability, and homogeneous distribution of nanovesicles was well established and exhibited excellent biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, and enhanced cell-material interactions.
Rizos Evangelos Bikiaris, Ioanna Koumentakou, A. Niti et al.· ACS Applied Bio Materials· 0 citations
TFe@SC hydrogel possesses some properties of antimicrobial dressings, such as high biosafety, adhesion to bacteria, and inhibition of bacterial proliferation with photothermal therapy (PTT).
Chenhui Ji, Zhongzhong Lu, Pengfei Chen et al.· International Journal of Bio...· 0 citations
Wound healing is a complicated biological process primarily involving tissue regeneration and repair. However, conditions such as infection, poor blood circulation, or long-term illnesses/chronic diseases (like diabetes) can impede the healing process and cause delayed recovery. In order to address these challenges, authors developed wafers. The prepared wafers have emerged as a promising solution due to their ease of application, excellent biocompatibility, and ability to maintain a moist wound environment. These porous, sponge-like systems can also be loaded with bioactive agents, enabling sustained and controlled drug delivery. The wafer was fabricated using solvent casting method with polymeric mixture of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), ethyl cellulose (EC), and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP K-30) and loaded with curcumin to promote wound healing. The loaded curcumin was dispersed using a high-speed homogeniser and lyophilized in a controlled environment. The developed wafer formulation was further characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), tensile strength analysis, swelling index, and water vapour transmission rate. The in vitro drug release study was carried out mimicking USP 5 paddle-over-disc type dissolution apparatus and the results indicated that the created wafers have a sustained drug release while keeping the tissue moist. The anti-microbial potential of wafers was confirmed using the disc diffusion method. The developed wafer showed strong potential as an antibacterial wound dressing, providing controlled drug release along with fast-acting relief from bacterial infections.
S. Chowdhury, Syed Mahmood, M. A. Mirza et al.· Scientific Reports· 1 citation
