Janus polyurethane sponge as an antibiofouling, antibacterial, and exudate-managing dressing for accelerated wound healing

The non-fouling condition, bacteria-free environment and suitable moisture at wound site are crucial for chronic wound healing. However, it remains highly meaningful yet challenging to develop wound dressings that can simultaneously achieve these desirable functions. In this work, a kind of multifunctional Janus polyurethane sponge (Janus-PU) was designed and fabricated by coating near-infrared (NIR)-responsive and superhydrophobic nanoparticles (F-ZnO@Ag NPs) on one surface of sponge. The nano-functionalized outer layer can endow Janus-PU with superhydrophobic antifouling property for preventing bacterial colonization and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity due to the presence of Ag NPs. Especially, the synergistic combination of asymmetric structure and strong NIR photothermal effect can impart Janus-PU with NIR-controlled unidirectional exudate removal, thus achieving an optimal wetting environment for wound healing. The mice full-thickness skin acute wounds treated with Janus-PU under NIR irradiation showed superior anti-infection and healing effect compared to the commercial dressings. Significantly, the treatment using Janus-PU with NIR irradiation can accelerate the recovery of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected diabetic chronic wounds due to the synergistic effect of antibiofouling, antibacterial and exudate-managing. The Janus-PU as a promising multifunctional dressing can prevent bacterial invasion and create an appropriate environment for wound healing, providing an effective solution for intractable wounds and infections. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The development of advanced wound dressings to ensure non-fouling condition, bacteria-free environment and suitable moisture is crucial for chronic wound healing. However, it remains a considerable challenge to simultaneously integrate antibiofouling, antibacterial and exudate-managing properties into a single dressing. In this work, we developed a kind of multifunctional Janus polyurethane sponge (Janus-PU) by a single-sided superhydrophobic modification strategy, which can simultaneously achieve superhydrophobic antifouling property, effective broad-spectrum antibacterial and near-infrared controlled exudate removal. The Janus-PU designed herein can not only create an optimal environment for accelerated wound healing, but also avoid frequent dressing replacement, thus providing an ideal material system for intractable wounds and infections.