Antibacterial Micelles-Loaded Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Oxidized Konjac Glucomannan Composite Hydrogels for Enhanced Wound Repairing

Antibacterial hydrogels have emerged as a promising approach for effective wound treatment. However, despite extensive research on the fabrication of antibacterial hydrogels, it remains challenging to develop injectable, biocompatible, transparent, and mass-producible hydrogels with antibacterial properties. In this study, we successfully fabricated an antibacterial drug-loaded composite hydrogel, named CC₄₅/OKG₄₀/HS, through a Schiff base reaction between carboxymethyl chitosan (CC) and oxidized konjac glucomannan (OKG), followed by the encapsulation of stevioside-stabilized honokiol (HS) micelles. The CC₄₅/OKG₄₀/HS hydrogel exhibited several favorable properties, including a short gel time (<10 min), high water content (>92%), injectability, good adhesiveness, self-healing ability, and high transparency. In vitro experiments confirmed its excellent antibacterial properties, antioxidant activities, and high biocompatibility (no cytotoxicity, hemolysis ratio <5%). Furthermore, in vivo evaluation demonstrated that the CC₄₅/OKG₄₀/HS_0.5 hydrogel accelerated wound healing by relieving inflammatory responses and enhancing re-epithelization. Given its feasibility for mass production, the findings showed that the CC₄₅/OKG₄₀/HS hydrogel has the potential as an advanced antibacterial wound dressing for commercial use.