Antibacterial hydrogel wound dressing is highly desirable in wound healing and infection control. However, the development of antibacterial hydrogels with controllable antibacterial properties and adequate mechanical properties without bacterial resistance and potential toxicity remains a challenge. Herein, a double bonds-ended polyaniline nanoparticle (Me-PANI NP) is synthesized, which can convert light energy into heat upon near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, and it is used as a novel photothermal antibacterial agent. The obtained bonds-ended Me-PANI NPs are subsequently involved in polyacrylamide (PAM) polymerization and served as chemical crosslinking points to form the Me-PANI NPs@PAM hydrogel, endowing the hydrogel with controllable photothermal antibacterial abilities upon NIR irradiation without time and space limit. Importantly, due to the energy dissipation of Me-PANI NPs under stretch, the Me-PANI NPs@PAM hydrogel achieves a maximum stretching ratio of 400% mechanical flexibility. The developed hydrogel can be potentially applied as a novel wound dressing to realize controllable treatment of bacterial infections and accelerate skin wound healing.

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The effective prevention and treatment of bacterial infections is imperative to wound repair and the improvement of patient outcomes. In recent years, nanomaterials have been extensively applied in infection control and wound healing due to their special physiochemical and biological properties. Incorporating antibacterial nanomaterials into wound dressing has been associated with improved biosafety and enhanced treatment outcomes compared to naked nanomaterials. In this review, we discuss progress in the application of nanomaterial-based wound dressings for advanced management of infected wounds. Focus is given to antibacterial therapy as well as the all-in-one detection and treatment of bacterial infections. Notably, we highlight progress in the use of nanoparticles with intrinsic antibacterial performances, such as metals and metal oxide nanoparticles that are capable of killing bacteria and reducing the drug-resistance of bacteria through multiple antimicrobial mechanisms. In addition, we discuss nanomaterials that have been proven to be ideal drug carriers for the delivery and release of antimicrobials either in passive or in stimuli-responsive manners. Focus is given to nanomaterials with the ability to kill bacteria based on the photo-triggered heat (photothermal therapy) or ROS (photodynamic therapy), due to their unparalleled advantages in infection control. Moreover, we highlight examples of intelligent nanomaterial-based wound dressings that can detect bacterial infections in-situ while providing timely antibacterial therapy for enhanced management of infected wounds. Finally, we highlight challenges associated with the current nanomaterial-based wound dressings and provide further perspectives for future improvement of wound healing.

Ionic conductive hydrogels are promising candidates for fabricating wearable sensors in human motion detection, disease diagnosis, and electronic skin. However, most of the existing ionic conductive hydrogel-based sensors primarily respond...