Self-healing hydrogels

Surgery

Copolymer

Composite material

Organic chemistry

Chemistry

Polymer chemistry

Materials science

Polyethylene glycol

Acrylamide

Polyvinylpyrrolidone

Antibacterial activity

Wound healing

Wound dressing

Polymer

Bacteria

Genetics

Medicine

Biology

Chemical Engineering Journal

As materials for the promotion of wound healing, hydrogel dressings must be usable for a long time or under extreme conditions. Traditional hydrogel dressings are often used for a short time mainly due to water loss at high temperature or water freezing at low temperature. This paper reports a facile approach to synthesize a novel antibacterial hydrogel wound dressing based on polyvinylpyrrolidone acrylamide 1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium and polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate via one-pot method. This hydrogel has cationic groups in the polymer chains and exhibits effective antibacterial and antifungal activity. Furthermore, this hydrogel has anti-freezing, non-drying, and self-healing properties because of its unique molecular structure. Results of wound closure and histopathological examinations demonstrate that the fabricated hydrogel wound dressing effectively promotes the wound healing process in a full-thickness skin defect model. Therefore, this antibacterial hydrogel may be used as a wound healing dressing, even under extreme conditions.

Synthesis of a novel anti-freezing, non-drying antibacterial hydrogel dressing by one-pot method