Bioactive Poly(4‐hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(ethylene glycol) Fibrous Dressings Incorporated with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Efficient Antibacterial Therapy and Rapid Clotting

Antibacterial and hemostatic properties are of great importance to wound dressing in treating trauma. Poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB), an U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved bioabsorbable polyester, is used as dermal substitutes to prevent sever wound contraction and improve wound healing. However, P4HB fibrous mats are not efficient in halting bleeding and preventing bacterial associated infection. Here the authors prepare a new kind of wound dressing by incorporating poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles into the P4HB matrix by using electrospinning method. The in vitro results reveal that the P4HB/PEG/ZnO dressings can synergistically help blood clotting, prevent bacteria adhesion, and kill bacteria efficiently. It's found that the bactericidal activity of the bioactive P4HB/PEG/ZnO dressings is related to the release of Zn2+ ions rather than reactive oxygen species (ROS) under dark condition. The in vivo antibacterial evaluation indicates that the bioactive P4HB/PEG/ZnO dressings can successfully prevent wound infections in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats' skin defect model. The in vivo hemostatic experiments evaluated in the rabbit ear injury model further confirm that the bioactive P4HB/PEG/ZnO dressings have excellent hemostatic performance. Hence, this study demonstrates that the bioactive P4HB/PEG/ZnO dressings with hemostatic and bactericidal properties have great potential in possible clinical applications.