Quaternized chitosan / Pluronic F127 thermosensitive hydrogel with high antibacterial properties for wound dressing

In everyday life, traditional dressings such as band-aid and gauze are used for dealing with small wounds. However, these dressings have shortcomings such as pain caused by tearing, inapplicability to joints, single functionality, and adverse reactions. Therefore, there is a great need for an inexpensive, comfortable, and multi-functional wound dressing. In this study, quaternized chitosan (QCS) with a high degree of substitution (107.84 ​%) was successfully prepared and characterized using ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). A series of QCS/F127 thermosensitive hydrogels were prepared by physical cross-linking and used as potential wound dressings. Then the temperature sensitivity, hemostatic ability, antibacterial activity, and sustained drug release effect of the hydrogels were investigated to evaluate their multifunctionality as wound dressings. Finally, the effect of QCS concentration on hydrogel properties was explored. The results show that the composite hydrogels have significant hemostatic, antibacterial, and sustained drug release abilities, and they can be rapidly transformed into a gel state and adhere to skin upon reaching body temperature. In addition, the properties of the hydrogels can be adjusted by varying the concentration of QCS, which allows for the preparation of wound dressings that are responsive to needs. Therefore, multifunctional QCS/F127 hydrogels with temperature-response characteristics are of great clinical research value as wound dressings.