Recent progress in hydrogels combined with phototherapy for bacterial infection: A review

Phototherapy has become one of the most effective antibacterial methods due to its associated lack of drug resistance and its good antibacterial effect. For the purpose of avoiding the aggregation and premature release of photosensitive/photothermal agents during phototherapy, they can be mixed into three-dimensional hydrogels. The combination of hydrogels and phototherapy combines the merits of both hydrogels and phototherapy, overcomes the disadvantages of traditional antibacterial methodologies, and has broad application prospects. This review presents recent advancements in phototherapeutic antibacterial hydrogels including photodynamic antibacterial hydrogels, photothermal antibacterial hydrogels, photodynamic and photothermal synergistic antibacterial hydrogels, and other synergistic antibacterial hydrogels involving phototherapy.