A capacitive polypyrrole-wrapped carbon cloth/bacterial cellulose antibacterial dressing with electrical stimulation for infected wound healing

The formulation of an antibiotic-free antibacterial approach is imperative in circumventing escalating bacterial drug resistance. Electrical stimulation presents a viable therapeutic modality for such an approach. Nonetheless, obstacles persist in achieving efficacious sterilization with biosafe low-voltage electrical fields (EFs) and enduring antibacterial capabilities. In this study, we have devised a novel capacitive antibacterial dressing comprising polypyrrole-wrapped carbon cloth (PPy-CC) electrodes and a bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrogel separator. Subjected to 1 V electrical stimulation for 10 min, the dressing attains high bactericidal efficiency (up to 99.97%) and enhanced activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria (up to 99.99%). Its considerable electric capacity and rechargeability allow for repeated charging to achieve sustained sterilization. In vivo results demonstrate significant inhibition of wound infection and facilitated wound recovery in infected full-thickness defects in mouse models. This represents an antibiotic-free, physically-stimulated treatment modality for infected wounds with considerable potential for clinical application. A capacitive antibacterial dressing consists of polypyrrole-wrapped carbon cloth as electrode layer and bacterial cellulose hydrogel as separator with efficiently accelerated infected-wound healing. The resultant hydrogel dressing exhibits excellent high capacitance characteristics, good biocompatibility, efficient and sustained antibacterial ability after low voltage charging. It is an antibiotic-free, physical stimulation-based strategy for infected wounds.