Living bacteria-loaded antibacterial hydrogel-coated gauze: A revolutionary solution for multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections

Chronic wounds infected by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pose critical therapeutic challenges due to the prevalence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. To address this issue, a biocompatible live bacteria-loaded hydrogel-coated gauze (APAG) was developed by integrating an engineering Pseudomonas sp. SC11pLAFR-GFP with an alginate/ε-polylysine-polyacrylamide (Alg/ε-PL-PAAm) double-network hydrogel. The hierarchical hydrogel architecture, achieved through physical entrapment in the Alg/ε-PL core, ensures bacterial viability, while the chemically crosslinked PAAm outer layer regulates metabolite diffusion kinetics, synergistically enhancing therapeutic efficacy. The engineered bacteria hydrogel gauze (SC11@APAG) demonstrated sustained antimicrobial production for more than 48 h through the metabolic activity of the loaded Pseudomonas sp. SC11. This biohybrid not only effectively combats MRSA infection in mice wounds but also enhances wound healing. This "bacterial antagonism" strategy combines the native antimicrobial properties of Pseudomonas sp. with advanced material engineering, establishing a new paradigm for intelligent biomedical textiles in combating antimicrobial resistance.