Coassembly of Fiber Hydrogel with Antibacterial Activity\nfor Wound Healing

Abstract

Wound healing remains a critical\nchallenge due to its vulnerability\nto bacterial infection and the complicated inflammatory microenvironment.\nHerein, we report a novel antibacterial hydrogel constructed only\nby gallic acid (GA) and phycocyanin (PC), which is expected for the\ntreatment of bacteria-infected wounds. These GA/PC hydrogels (GP)\nwas found to coassemble into fibrous networks with a diameter of around\n2 μm mainly through noncovalent interactions of hydrogen bonds,\nvan der Waals force, and π interaction. Notably, these GP hydrogels\nshowed excellent rheological properties (i.e., storage modulus of\nmore than 9.0 × 10⁴ Pa) and outstanding biocompatibility\nand antibacterial activities. Thanks to the incorporation of GA and\nPC, the GP hydrogels enabled adherence to the moist wound tissue and\nachieved a sustained release of GA and PC into the wound skin, therefore\neffectively attenuating inflammation and accelerating wound healing\nboth in normal mice and bacteria-infected mice through regulating\nthe expression of the tight junction protein and the alleviation of\noxidative stress. Considering these results, these GP hydrogels are\ndemonstrated to be a promising candidate for bacteria-infected wound\nhealing.