Antibacterial, Self-Adhesive, and Conductive Hydrogel Patch Based on Collagen@AgNPs/MXene for Accelerated Wound Healing and Health Monitoring

The issue of accelerating wound healing poses significant challenges in clinical management, primarily due to bacterial infections, inflammatory responses, and insufficient angiogenesis. Despite the fact that electrical stimulation is regarded as the most promising method for promoting rapid wound healing, traditional rigid electrodes are unable to uniformly conduct electrical signals and thus cannot effectively treat infected wounds. The present study was conceived with the objective of synthesizing and designing a collagen@silver nanoparticles (Col@AgNPs) core-shell structure with antibacterial properties, with a view to overcoming compatibility issues between MXene and the matrix. Subsequently, Col@AgNPs interact with MXene, which is uniformly distributed within the hydrogel matrix. The resultant process produces a hybrid conductive hydrogel, designated PPMX. The hydrogel exhibits several advantageous properties, including conductivity, antimicrobial properties, self-adhesiveness, and biocompatibility, rendering it an optimal selection for wound dressings and conductive media. Through in vitro electrical stimulation experiments, the material was found to significantly accelerate wound healing by promoting angiogenesis and collagen deposition. Moreover, due to the hydrogel's stretchability, the PPMX hydrogel can be assembled into a flexible, multifunctional human motion monitoring system capable of tracking joint movements, facial expressions, and voice recognition.