Mussel-inspired hydrogel with injectable self-healing and antibacterial properties promotes wound healing in burn wound infection

Abstract Burn wound infections cause serious problems for public health. More than 180,000 patients die from burns every year worldwide. In addition, the difficulty of healing wounds and wound infections caused by burns affects the mental health of patients. Therefore, it is very important to develop a wound dressing that can promote wound repair and exhibits good antibacterial effects. Here, we used oxidized konjac glucomannan (OKGM), γ-poly(glutamic acid) modified with dopamine and L -cysteine (γ-PGA-DA-Cys) and ε-polylysine (ε-PL) to produce an OKGM/γ-PGA-DA-Cys/ε-PL (OKPP) hydrogel. This hydrogel was produced by thiol-aldehyde addition and Schiff-base reactions and has the ability to be injected and self-heal. The results showed that the hydrogel exhibits good antibacterial effects on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus and has antioxidant effects in vitro. Moreover, the hydrogel also exhibits good adhesion. In a burn wound infection model, the hydrogel promoted wound healing and reduced the production of inflammation. These results proved that the hydrogel has clinical potential as a wound dressing for burn wound infection.