A highly stretchable, adhesive, anti-freezing hydrogel with prominent antibacterial property rapidly prepared by photopolymerization for wound dressing

Abstract

Hydrogels have been widely used in the biomedical field. Wound healing is a complex process, and improper handling can lead to inflammation, damage to health and increase pain. Moreover, wounds in joints are difficult to protect. Here, a stretchable, adhesion, anti-freezing and antibacterial hydrogel (ATSHQ) for wound healing is facilely prepared by photopolymerization under green LED irradiation, with acrylamide (AM), N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl] acrylamide (THMA) and sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) as the skeleton, hyaluronic acid (HA) as wound healing accelerator, and quaternized chitosan (QCS) as antibacterial component. This hydrogel design has the advantage of being cross-linked without adding specific cross-linking agents that may increase toxicity. ATSHQ hydrogels present excellent mechanical properties (the maximum stress can reach 343 kPa), strong extensibility (the maximum strain can reach 1587%), adequate tissue adhesion, rapid self-healing, tough anti-freezing, and anti-dehydration. The balanced mechanical property and adhesion of the hydrogel allow for stable joint adhesion and easy removal without damage. Furthermore, the biocompatibility and antibacterial properties of ATSHQ hydrogels were confirmed.