Mechanobactericidal, Gold Nanostar Hydrogel-Based Bandage for Bacteria-Infected Skin Wound Healing

Abstract

The emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) microorganisms has led to the development of alternative approaches for providing relief from microbial attacks. The mechano-bactericidal action as a substitute for antimicrobials has become the focus of intensive research. In this work, nanostructure-conjugated hydrogel are explored as a flexible dressing against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)-infected skin wounds. Herein gold nanostars (AuNst) with spike lengths reaching 120 nm are probed for antibacterial action. The bacterial killing of >95% is observed for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), while up to 60% for Gram-positive S. aureus. AuNst conjugated hydrogel (AuNst120@H) reduced >80% colonies of P. aeruginosa and E. coli. In comparison, around 35.4% reduction of colonies are obtained for S. aureus. The viability assay confirmed the presence of about 85% of living NIH-3T3 cells when grown with hydrogels. An animal wound model is also developed to assess the efficiency of AuNst120@H. A significant reduction in wound size is observed on the 10th day in AuNst120@H treated animals with fully formed epidermal layers, hair follicles, new blood vessels, and arrector muscles. These findings suggest that novel dressing materials can be developed with antimicrobial nanotextured surfaces.

Probiotics and postbiotics play a role in maintaining dermal health

“…88 In Gram-positive bacteria, PG accounts for around 90% of the total cell wall weight and has a thickness of up to 80 nm, but in Gram-negative bacteria, the PG layer thickness is only about 10 nm. 89…”

“…88 In Gram-positive bacteria, PG accounts for around 90% of the total cell wall weight and has a thickness of up to 80 nm, but in Gram-negative bacteria, the PG layer thickness is only about 10 nm. 89 PG plays a critical role in skin protection and defense against pathogenic bacteria by activating the host's innate immunity machinery through the Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2) pathway, resulting in the release of a variety of immune-related chemokines and cytokines. 90 PG is involved in the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which results in keratinocytes producing interleukin-8 (IL-8).…”

Biodegradable Polymer Nanosheets Incorporated with Zn-Containing Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

“…The treatment of burn wound is known to be a long-lasting and complex process that requires new therapeutic options to improve and accelerate the healing progress [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. An ideal wound dressing should accelerate one or several stages of the healing processes including the inflammatory, migratory, proliferative, and remodeling phases.…”

“…An ideal wound dressing should accelerate one or several stages of the healing processes including the inflammatory, migratory, proliferative, and remodeling phases. A variety of wound dressings are available and still widely used to treat such wounds [1][2][3][4][7][8][9][10]. And even though the properties of ultimate wound dressings are well identified, major difficulties arise when it comes to combining them within the same material [1][2][3][4]7,9].…”

“…A variety of wound dressings are available and still widely used to treat such wounds [1][2][3][4][7][8][9][10]. And even though the properties of ultimate wound dressings are well identified, major difficulties arise when it comes to combining them within the same material [1][2][3][4]7,9]. In other words, realizing an optimal combination of desired properties in one wrapping material is still challenging, and therefore new materials with improved properties are highly anticipated.…”