Gallic acid-doped multifunctional hybrid hydrogel for antioxidant and antibacterial studies

The design and fabrication of multifunctional hybrid hydrogels for various biomedical applications have sparked tremendous scientific interest and still remain a formidable challenge. Here, we report the construction of a multifunctional supramolecular hybrid hydrogel through a facile preparation route by co-assembling the L-phenylalanine-derivative (LPF) gelator with agarose (AG) and gallic acid (GA). The experimental analysis demonstrates that the components of hybrid hydrogel co-assembled to form a cross-linked interpenetrating network that is mainly formed through non-covalent interactions, thereby resulting in remarkable enhancement in rheological properties with an elastic modulus (G′) of 12715 Pa. Due to the inherent antimicrobial property of GA, this hybrid hydrogel exhibited antibacterial activities against both Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacterial cells. Furthermore, the presence of GA enabled hybrid hydrogels to offer efficient antioxidant properties by scavenging free radicals such as DPPH· and ABTS·+. The cell adhesion, proliferation, and spreading behavior of L929 cells were significantly improved on the hybrid hydrogel substrate. These experimental findings suggest that this high-performance hybrid hydrogel possessing antibacterial, antioxidant, and biocompatible properties, opens new avenues for extensive applications in the biomedical field.