Genipin crosslinked quaternary ammonium chitosan hydrogels potential for wound dressings

Abstract Bacterial infection can lead to various complications, such as inflammations on surrounding tissues, which can prolong wound healing and thus represent a significant clinical and public healthcare problem. Herein, a report on the fabrication of a novel genipin/quaternized chitosan (CS) hydrogel for wound dressing is presented. The hydrogel was prepared by mixing quaternized CS and genipin under 35 °C bath. The hydrogels showed porous structure (250–500 μm) and mechanical properties (3000–6000 Pa). In addition, the hydrogels displayed self-healing ability and adhesion performance on different substrates. Genipin crosslinked quaternized CS hydrogels showed antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus . The CCK-8 and fluorescent images confirmed the cytocompatibility of hydrogels by seeding with NIH-3T3 cells. The present study showed that the prepared hydrogel has the potential to be used as wound dressing.