Injectable, Intrinsically Antibacterial Conductive Hydrogels with Self-Healing and pH Stimulus Responsiveness for Epidermal Sensors and Wound Healing

Torealize intelligent and personalized medicine, it is a huge challenge to develop a hydrogel dressing that can be used as a sensor to monitor human health in real-time while promoting wound healing. Herein, an injectable, self-healing, and conductive chitosan-based (CPT) hydrogel with pH responsiveness and intrinsic antibacterial properties was fabricated via a Schiff base linkage and a hydrogen bond. Due to the introduction of Schiff base bonds, the injectable CPT hydrogel exhibits various excellent properties, such as pH responsiveness to sol-gel transition, self-healing properties, and broad-spectrum antibacterial properties even without additional antibacterial agents. In vitro experiments verify the excellent biocompatibility of the as-prepared hydrogel. An in vivo experiment in a mouse full-thickness skin-wound model was performed to confirm the outstanding effect on wound healing. Meanwhile, as epidermal sensors, the conductive hydrogel that perceives various human activities in real-time could provide the real-time analysis of the patient's healthcare information. Based on these excellent properties, the CPT hydrogel, as a biological dressing with a sensing function, lays a solid foundation for the further realization of personalized medicine.

Automated summary

This study developed a chitosan-based hydrogel with self-healing, conductive, and antibacterial properties, which can be used as a sensor to monitor human health in real-time and promote wound healing. The injectable hydrogel, fabricated via Schiff base linkage and hydrogen bond, shows pH responsiveness and broad-spectrum antibacterial properties.