Reversible Adhesive Hydrogel Balancing Conflicting Needs of Strong Adhesion and Painless Removal for Diabetic Joint Wound Healing

Diabetic joint wounds require dressings with strong adhesion, painless removal, and therapeutic effects. We developed DA-Hyd-Doxy, a multifunctional hydrogel, by copolymerizing N-isopropylacrylamide with dopamine-containing zwitterionic poly(amidoamine)s and encapsulating doxycycline. This hydrogel exhibits strong, reversible adhesion, surpassing the Tegaderm film at ∼35 °C, while exposure to 10 °C water for 10 min reduces adhesion to 0 N for painless removal. It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, promoting angiogenesis, collagen deposition, and re-epithelialization. Loaded with doxycycline, it achieves nearly 100% bacteria-killing efficiency against E. coli and S. aureus. In vivo studies showed superior wound healing, with DA-Hyd-Doxy achieving near-complete closure (1.1 ± 0.4%) versus Tegaderm (20.2 ± 3.0%). This hydrogel provides a practical solution for infected diabetic joint wounds, offering strong adhesion, painless removal, and multifunctional therapeutic benefits, making it ideal for dynamic wound sites.