Construction and Performance Study of a Dual‐Network Hydrogel Dressing Mimicking Skin Pore Drainage for Photothermal Exudate Removal and On‐Demand Dissolution

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, negative pressure wound dressings have garnered widespread attentions. However, it is challenging to drain the accumulated fluid under negative pressures for hydrogel dressings. To address this issue, this study prepared a chemical/physical duel‐network PEG‐CMCS/AG/MXene hydrogel composed by chemical disulfide crosslinked network of four‐arm polyethylene glycol/carboxymethyl chitosan (4‐Arm‐PEG‐SH/CMCS), and the physical network of hydrogen bond of agar (AG). Under near‐infrared light (NIR) irradiation, the PEG‐CMCS/AG/MXene hydrogel undergoes photothermal heating due to integrate of MXene, which destructs the hydrogen bond network and allows the removal of exudate through a mechanism mimicking the sweat gland‐like effect of skin pores. The photothermal heating effect also enables the antimicrobial activity to prevent wound infections. The excellent electrical conductivity of PEG‐CMCS/AG/MXene can promote cell proliferation under the external electrical stimulation (ES) in vitro. The animal experiments of full‐thickness skin defect model further demonstrate its ability to accelerate wound healing. The conversion between thioester and thiol achieved with L‐cysteine methyl ester hydrochloride (L‐CME) can provides the on‐demand dissolution of the dressing in situ. This study holds promises to provide a novel solution to the issue of fluid accumulations under hydrogel dressings and offers new approaches to alleviating or avoiding the significant secondary injuries caused by frequent dressing changes.

Keywords

• electrical stimulation
• near‐infrared response
• on‐demand dissolution
• removal of exudate
• wound dressings