Aug 2026· Small· pp.
e75193
· 0 citations· 86 references
Medicine
TL;DR
A stimuli-responsive wound dressing that integrates carboxylated eggshell membrane with electrosprayed tannic acid/iron particles trapped between electrospun Poly-L-lactide-caprolactone (PLCL) layers and precisely laser-structured to increase porosity and fit the wound size offers an antibiotic-free strategy that disinfects, modulates inflammation, and promotes regeneration of infected wounds.
Abstract
The human skin is highly susceptible to bacterial infections and inflammation when its integrity is disrupted. Treatment of infected wounds is a big challenge in modern medicine, and rising antibiotic resistance motivates the development of antibiotic-free therapies. Here, we present a stimuli-responsive wound dressing that integrates carboxylated eggshell membrane (ESM) with electrosprayed tannic acid/iron (TAFe) particles trapped between electrospun Poly-L-lactide-caprolactone (PLCL) layers and precisely laser-structured to increase porosity and fit the wound size. The TAFe exhibits stable photothermal conversion and antioxidant activity, eradicating more than 99.5% of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), while maintaining high biocompatibility in vitro. In an infected rat model, the sandwich-like ESMmod/PLCL/TAFe dressing accelerated closure and achieved near-complete healing, with residual wound area <1% by day 14. Analysis shows that the material promotes M2-mediated reparative microenvironment, which, in consequence, suppresses TNFα and IL-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokines, and enhances angiogenesis through increased CD31 and VEGF levels. Moreover, a more organized collagen structure and less scarring were found in the wound bed. Importantly, the material is partially derived from waste, aligning with circular economy principles and reducing resource burden. The versatile composite offers an antibiotic-free strategy that disinfects, modulates inflammation, and promotes regeneration of infected wounds.
This work demonstrates a safe and effective strategy for combating MDR infections through the combined action of photothermal therapy and nanozyme catalysis, offering promising potential for clinical wound management.
Weiwei Zhang, Lixiang Fan, Xuanjun Zhang et al.· ACS Applied Materials and In...· 0 citations
A self-powered dressing integrating portable perovskite solar cells to deliver direct ES that activates anti-inflammatory M2-type macrophage polarization, thereby regulating immune responses and reshaping infected-wound microenvironments is reported, providing a promising platform for infected-wound treatment.
Lian Duan, Yufan Bu, Peng Zhou et al.· Biomaterials· 0 citations
A pioneering near-infrared activated antibacterial EPLGA/OHADA@HMCuS hydrogel was formulated by doping hollow mesoporous copper sulfide (HMCuS) into the three-dimensional spatial network structure formed between gallic acid-modified ε-polylysine (EPL-GA) and dopamine-engineered and oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHADA) and showcased favorable biocompatibility, sustaining cellular viability.
N. Wang, Wei Jiang, Feiyu Lu et al.· Biomaterials Advances· 0 citations
Infected skin wounds demand integrated strategies for rapid bacterial clearance and tissue repair. We developed a β-glucan–gelatin–tannic acid–Cu9S8 (CSGGT) composite hydrogel combining NIR-II photothermal therapy (1064 nm) with a bioactive physical network. The hydrogel exhibited self-healing, injectability, rapid swelling, and excellent biocompatibility. Cu9S8 nanoparticles (photothermal conversion efficiency: 43.87%) enabled efficient bacterial killing (≥2.5-log reduction for S. aureus and E. coli) under laser irradiation. In an S. aureus-infected murine full-thickness wound model, CSGGT + NIR achieved near-complete closure by day 12, with robust re-epithelialization, regenerated skin appendages, dense collagen deposition, and reduced inflammatory infiltration, significantly outperforming all controls. No systemic toxicity was observed. This work presents a combined therapeutic platform that merges immediate photothermal antibacterial action with sustained pro-healing microenvironment support, offering a promising non-antibiotic solution for infected wound management.
Diabetic chronic wounds remain a major clinical challenge due to persistent oxidative stress, increasing antimicrobial resistance, and dysregulated intercellular communication, which severely limit the efficacy of conventional monotherapies. To address these limitations, we developed a near-infrared II (NIR-II)-activated, thermoresponsive nanotherapeutic platform, CPNPs-Rhein@PCM (CRP), that combines photothermal conversion with on-demand drug release for coordinated infection control and wound microenvironment remodeling. Donor-acceptor-structured conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNPs) with high photothermal conversion efficiency (57.8%) function as the photothermal core, while rhein is encapsulated within liposomal phase-change materials (PCM, phase-transition temperature ≈45 °C) to enable precisely regulated thermal release. The resulting nanoplatform exhibits excellent colloidal stability, strong NIR-II absorption, and high drug-loading efficiency (42.5%), enabling rapid and controllable drug release under laser irradiation. Under NIR-II excitation, localized hyperthermia induces PCM phase transition and synchronizes photothermal sterilization with rhein-mediated chemical inhibition. This coordinated activation disrupts bacterial membranes, suppresses biofilm formation, scavenges excessive reactive oxygen species, and promotes macrophage polarization toward the pro-regenerative M2 phenotype, thereby facilitating angiogenesis, endothelial migration, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Transcriptomic analyses further reveal that CRP treatment systematically regulates inflammation, migration, angiogenesis, and tissue repair-related signaling pathways, providing molecular-level evidence for its immunomodulatory and regenerative functions. Both in vitro and in vivo investigations confirm that CRP achieves >99% antibacterial efficiency against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, leading to >90% wound closure within 24 h and near-complete wound healing within 16 days in an infected diabetic mouse model, without detectable systemic toxicity. Thus, this study establishes CRP as a nanoplatform that exhibits quantitatively confirmed photothermal-chemical synergistic antibacterial performance. It further regulates macrophage polarization, ROS scavenging and angiogenesis to remodel the diabetic wound microenvironment for efficient tissue regeneration, and highlights its potential for the precision treatment of refractory diabetic chronic wounds.
Unknown authors· Journal of Controlled Releas...· 0 citations
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