Preparation of reactive oxygen species-responsive antibacterial hydrogels for efficient anti-infection therapy

Abstract In this study, we prepared a novel reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive antibacterial hydrogel (named PAAg-PGFe), which is composed of silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-contained polyacrylic acid (PA) and Fe2+/Fe3+-contained polyglutamic acid (PG). The hydrogel remained stable under the normal condition but rapidly broke down when encountering ROS. The hydrogel exhibited strong capacity of inhibiting pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells but had no obvious toxicity to mammalian cells. In vivo experiments further showed that the hydrogel have excellent anti-infection ability, leading to quick wound healing and pathogen removal. This study provides a novel strategy of preparing stimuli-responsive hydrogels, facilitating the application of hydrogels in anti-infection therapy.