Efficient Photothermal, Flexible Wood-Based Hydrogel for Infected Wound Recovery

Photothermal therapy, because of its inherent high specificity and low invasiveness, can easily and quickly inhibit infected wounds and promote repair. Herein, flexible wood (LM) was synthesized and combined with clarithromycin-carrying black phosphorus in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix to create a highly effective photothermal and flexible wood-based hydrogel (LM@PBKb), which exhibited photothermal and photodynamic bactericidal effects as well as long-lasting wound sterility for the treatment of infected skin wounds. The LM@PBKb hydrogel exhibited a photothermal conversion efficiency of 28.8%. When 808 nm laser irradiation and the long-lasting sustained release of the LM@PBKb hydrogel were combined, Escherichia coli was almost completely inhibited. After 808 nm laser irradiation in the near-infrared region, LM@PBKb used in mice with infected wounds rapidly inhibited infection, maintained a sterile environment for a long time, and accelerated wound healing. Scanning electron microscopy images show that the wounds treated with LM@PBKb were relatively flat and resembled uninfected wounds. This highly efficient photothermal flexible wood-based hydrogel is a high-potential environmentally friendly biomaterial.