High-strength, antibacterial, antioxidant, hemostatic, and biocompatible chitin/PEGDE-tannic acid hydrogels for wound healing

Natural polymer hydrogels are widely used in various aspects of biomedical engineering, such as wound repair, owing to their abundance and biosafety. However, the low strength and the lack of function restricted their development and application scope. Herein, we fabricated novel multifunctional chitin/PEGDE-tannic acid (CPT) hydrogels through chemical- and physical-crosslinking strategies, using chitin as the base material, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (PEGDE) and tannic acid (TA) as crosslinking agents, and 90 % ethanol as the regenerative bath. CPT hydrogels maintained a stable three-dimensional porous structure with suitable water contents and excellent biocompatibility. The mechanical properties of hydrogels were greatly improved (tensile stress up to 5.43 ± 1.14 MPa). Moreover, CPT hydrogels had good antibacterial, antioxidant, and hemostatic activities and could substantially promote wound healing in a rat model of full-thickness skin defect by regulating inflammatory responses and promoting collagen deposition and blood vessel formation. Therefore, this work provides a useful strategy to fabricate novel multifunctional CPT hydrogels with excellent mechanical, antibacterial, antioxidant, hemostatic, and biocompatible properties. CPT hydrogels could be promising candidates for wound healing.