Aramid Nanofibers-Reinforced Rhein Fibrous Hydrogels as Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Burn Wound Dressings

Burn injuries are one of the most devastating traumas. The development of polymer-based hydrogel dressings to prevent bacterial infection and accelerate burn wound healing is continuously desired. Mechanical strong hydrogels that encapsulated antibacterial drugs have gained increasing attention. Herein, aramid nanofibers (ANFs)-reinforced rhein fibrous hydrogels (ANFs/Rhein) were fabricated through a one-pot procedure to serve as a possible treatment for the Staphylococcus aureus-infected burn wound. ANFs preserved the highly aligned backbones and the mechanical properties of Kevlar, and its combination with an antibacterial drug rhein produced a composite hydrogel that possesses favorable physicochemical properties including appropriate mechanical strength, high water holding capacity, satisfactory antibacterial efficiency, and excellent biocompatibility. As wound dressings, ANFs/Rhein hydrogels provided a moist environment for the wound site and released antibacterial drugs continuously to improve the wound healing rate by efficiently restraining bacterial infection, reducing inflammation, enhancing collagen deposition, and promoting the formation of blood vessels, in this way to offer a potential treatment strategy for bacteria-associated burn wound healing.