A mussel-inspired multifunctional hydrogel reinforced by bacterial cellulose for wound healing: sustained drug release, enhanced adhesion and self-healing property

Designing and developing antibacterial hydrogel dressing with multiple functions including adhesiveness, good mechanical performance, self-healing, and hemostatic to improve full-thickness skin wound regeneration is greatly desirable in healthcare. In this work, a versatile hydrogel was fabricated based on bacterial cellulose decorated with polydopamine (PDA@BC), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) via dynamic borate (PB) ester bond crosslinking. The tissue adhesiveness, self-healing mechanical property, and hemostatic ability of the hydrogels were improved. Doxycycline hydrochloride (Doxy)-load PB-PDA@BC hydrogels exhibit excellent antibacterial activity by continuous drug release of Doxy. The hydrogels also exhibited high swelling ratio, good biocompatibility, and suitable mechanical property. Compared with commercial Tegaderm film dressing, PB-PDA@BC/Doxy hydrogels dressing could better promote wound closure in a mouse full-thickness wound model. In generally, our results demonstrated that the PB-PDA@BC/Doxy hydrogels dressing can be considered an excellent wound dressing for wound healing. Graphical abstract