Nucleobase-Inspired Self-Adhesive and Inherently Antibacterial Hydrogel for Wound Dressing

Developing hydrogel wound dressings with antibacterial activity and reproducible adhesion ability is an urgent need in biomaterial sciences. However, present hydrogel wound dressings either employ inorganic antibacterial agents such as Ag and metallic oxide nanoparticles, which have dosage dependence and unsatisfactory biocompatibility, or load antibiotics, evolving drug-resistant bacteria. Here a nucleobase-inspired self-adhesive and inherently antibacterial hydrogel is reported as a wound dressing. The hydrogel was developed from poly(3-dimethyl(methacryloyloxyethyl)ammonium propanesulfonate)-co-poly(methacryloylamidoadenine) (PDMAPS-co-PMA-Ade) and chitosan. The DMAPS moieties endow the hydrogel with an anti-fouling property, while special interactions between nucleobase-modified MA-Ade provide facile molecular recognition with corresponding groups on the surface of tissues. In vivo cutaneous wound repair determination demonstrated that the hydrogel-treated mice showed no hemorrhage, less inflammation, and fewer neovessels than the control after 14 days. This achievement offers an opportunity to facilitate significant wound healing without the aid of other antibiotics.