Title: A Photocrosslinked Hybrid Hydrogel Based on Chitosan/Hyaluronic Acid/ZnO toward Wound Sealing

Author: Jiale Sun, Donghao Hu, Yiling Li, Jia Wei*, Yanlei Yu*

Journal: Polym. Chem., 2025

Abstract:

A newly designed photocrosslinked hydrogel undergoes gelation under UV light irradiation and contains three types of crosslinked networks resulting from free radical polymerization, thiol-Michael addition reaction and dynamic disulfide bonds. This hybrid hydrogel exhibits an extremely fast gelling time, improved modulus and broad-spectrum antibacterial properties.

Fulltext Link: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/py/d4py01207k

Surgical suturing and trauma treatment are crucial for wound healing. However, traditional wound closure methods, such as sutures, hemostatic forceps, and surgical gauze, often pose a risk of secondary injury when applied to internal organs. Photocurable hydrogels, which form a three-dimensional cross-linked network through photoinitiated polymerization, possess excellent flexibility, biocompatibility, and high mechanical strength, making them ideal materials for wound closure. Nevertheless, during the wound healing process, infection by pathogenic microorganisms is also a significant issue. The presence of bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus can significantly delay the healing process, exacerbate inflammation, and damage tissue structure, thereby increasing the risk of complications. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate antibacterial materials into the wound closure hydrogel system. In this study, we introduced chitosan with natural antibacterial properties and doped zinc oxide nanoparticles as antibacterial agents into the hydrogel. The disruption of bacterial cell membrane structure by these two materials can effectively inhibit bacterial growth and reproduction. The hydrogel not only exhibits excellent mechanical properties and rapid curing time but also demonstrates outstanding antibacterial ability, achieving an antibacterial rate of 99% against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, providing strong support for future clinical applications.