A β-Lactamase-Imprinted Responsive Hydrogel for the Treatment of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Antibiotics play important roles in infection treatment and prevention. However, the effectiveness of antibiotics is now threatened by the prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria. Furthermore, antibiotic abuse and residues in the environment cause serious health issues. In this study, a stimuli-responsive imprinted hydrogel was fabricated by using beta-lactamase produced by bacteria for deactivating antibiotics as the template molecule. The imprinted hydrogel could initially trap beta-lactamase excreted by drug-resistant bacteria, thus making bacteria sensitive to antibiotics. After the bactericidal treatment, the imprinted sites on the hydrogel could be reversibly abolished with a temperature stimulus, which resulted in the reactivation of beta-lactamase to degrade antibiotic residues. We also present an example of the use of this antibacterial design to treat wound infection.