Highly adhesive and dual-crosslinking hydrogel via one-pot self-initiated polymerization for efficient antibacterial, antifouling and full-thickness wound healing

A multifunctional hydrogel dressing system with high adhesion and dual-crosslinking for efficient antibacterial, antifouling and full-thickness wound healing is designed, synthesized via one-pot self-initiated polymerization and evaluated. Arginine-modified chitosan-oligosaccharide (COS-Arg)-doped hydrogel system is prepared by exploiting the spontaneous radical polymerization of [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SBMA). SBMA is cross-linked with methacrylamide dopamine (DMA) and methacrylatoethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC) through covalent bonding to form the hydrogel framework at room temperature under nitrogen atmosphere. The catechol groups on DMA, zwitterionic SBMA and the quaternary ammonium groups in the system endows the functional hydrogel system with good strength, excellent adhesion to the wound and a tight fit even under motion. The hemolytic activity, CCK-8, cell scratching and live/dead staining assays confirm the excellent cytocompatibility of the multifunctional hydrogel. Antibacterial tests demonstrate the excellent antibacterial activity of the hydrogel against E. coli and S. aureus. Animal studies show that hydrogels are effective in maintaining a moist microenvironment at the wound site, promoting the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hydroxyproline and reducing the formation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), thus effectively accelerating wound healing in vivo, which idicating the satisfactory effect of the dual-crosslinking multifunctional hydrogel dressings for wound healing.