The emergence of drug-resistant microbes has become a threat to global health, and microbial infections severely limit the use of healthcare materials. To achieve efficient antimicrobial therapy, supramolecular hydrogels demonstrate unprecedented advantages in medical applications due to the tunable and reversible nature of their supramolecular interactions and the capability of hydrogels to incorporate various therapeutic agents. Herein, antimicrobial hydrogels are categorized according to their inherent antimicrobial properties or based on their roles in encapsulating antimicrobial materials. Moreover, strategies to further enhance the antimicrobial efficacy of hydrogels are highlighted, such as the incorporation of antifouling agents or the enabling of response towards physiological cues. We envision that supramolecular hydrogels, in combination with modern medical technology and devices, will contribute to the development of efficient and safe systems for antimicrobial therapy.
Novel thermoresponsive amphiphilic triblock copolymers with two hydrophilic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) blocks flanking a central hydrophobic poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] block were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. The copolymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the copolymer was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and crystallization behavior was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The water-soluble copolymers formed core−corona-type micelle aggregates in water. The critical micelle concentrations of the triblock copolymers were in the range of 1.5 to 41.1 mg/L, and the partition coefficients were in the range of (1.64−20.42) × 105. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the self-assembled micelle aggregates had well-defined spherical shape. The temperature sensitivity of the micelles was demonstrated by the phase transition of a 0.5 mg/mL aqueous polymer solution at the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Preliminary cytotoxicity studies showed that these micelles were nontoxic and could be potential candidates for the encapsulation and release of therapeutic drugs in the biological system.
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