Hierarchical Conductive Hydrogel for Smart Detection and Killing of Gram-Positive Bacteria in Wound Healing

Infections, especially those caused by Gram-positive bacteria, pose a major threat to public health and wound healing. Traditional dressings often lack specificity, induce drug resistance, and cause secondary damage. Herein, we develop a hierarchical conductive biocompatible hydrogel that offers multifunctional wound care, including wound protection, selective detection and eradication of Gram-positive bacteria, maintaining strong adhesion during use, and self-adaptive removal without causing adhesion-related damage. Notably, the hydrogel responds to bacterial metabolism of hyaluronidase, inducing the degradation of its network and enhancing conductivity, which enables real-time detection of infection (as low as 10² CFU/mL within 15 min). Then, in situ bacterial killing was achieved via photothermal therapy (10 min of irradiation, with a killing efficiency approaching 100%), while simultaneously avoiding resistance. Furthermore, the hydrogel can be self-adaptively removed in response to the heat generated during therapy, preventing secondary damage. This hydrogel dressing holds significant promise for intelligent wound management.