Metal–phenolic network-based polydopamine@Cu within a polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel film for improved infected wound healing through antibacterial and pro-angiogenesis activity

An ideal wound dressing should not only have flexibility, adequate mechanical strength and adhesion ability but also possess antibacterial ability and biofunction. Herein, we prepared polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based hydrogel membranes with copper ion-loaded polydopamine ([email protected]) to simultaneously achieve antibacterial and pro-angiogenesis functions in a wound dressing. We prepared three porous PVA/[email protected] hydrogels with different concentrations of copper ion, namely PVA/[email protected], PVA/[email protected] and PVA/[email protected] Although the incorporation of [email protected] slightly decreased the compressive mechanical strength, the tensile property of the PVA/[email protected] significantly increased, thereby enhancing the flexibility of the PVA hydrogel film. The hydrogel membranes had good biocompatibility, except PVA/[email protected], which had toxic effects because of a high Cu concentration. The antibacterial effect of the membrane increased with the increasing Cu concentration. Owing to the photothermal property of PDA, the PVA/[email protected] hydrogel membranes show synergistic antibacterial ability. Furthermore, the PVA/[email protected] and PVA/[email protected] hydrogel membranes had pro-angiogenesis property. Results of in vivo experiments showed that PVA/[email protected] achieved satisfactory repair outcomes for the bacterial infected wound with abundant collagen deposition and formation of neo-vessels. These results suggest that the PVA/[email protected] hydrogel membrane serves as a better platform for regeneration of the infected skin and thus will have a clinical application in the future.