Antibacterial polyacrylic acid/quaternary chitosan/nano-zinc oxide composites hydrogel with inflammation promotes the release of mupirocin

The topical antibiotics could effectively treat infection and resist inflammation, but long-term or excessive use would lead to drug resistance. Antibiotics was introduced into hydrogel and released under inflammatory was a safe and effective way to treat infection. Herein, a composites hydrogel was be prepared by incorporating 2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (HACC) and nano-zinc oxide (nZnO) into chemically crosslinked polyacrylic acid (PAA) network. The hydrogel possessed good mechanical properties and fatigue resistance. The maximum fracture strength and toughness of hydrogel reached 195 kPa and 1.17 MJ/m3 respectively. Moreover, hydrogel had biocompatibility (cell viability ≥ 80 %), their antibacterial activity was also confirmed against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli.) Most importantly, the hydrogel could intelligently control the release of mupirocin. When the wound was not infected (about pH = 5.5), mupirocin was rarely released. HACC and nZnO were relied to resist bacteria. Once the wound was be infected (about pH = 8.5), mupirocin would be released to resist inflammation. Experimental data show that the release of mupirocin at 37 °C, pH = 8.5 was 5 times higher than that at pH = 5.5. Therefore, it was possible that PAA/HACC/nZnO hydrogel could be used as an intelligent hydrogel dressing for wound healing.