Synthesis and Properties of Hemostatic and Bacteria-Responsive in Situ Hydrogels for Emergency Treatment in Critical Situations

Abstract

Immediate hemorrhage control and infection prevention are pivotal for saving lives in critical situations such as battlefields, natural disasters, traffic accidents, and so on. In situ hydrogels are promising candidates, but their mechanical strength is often not strong enough for use in critical situations. In this study, we constructed three hydrogels with different amounts of Schiff-base moieties from 4-arm-PEG-NH2, 4-arm-PEG-NHS, and 4-arm-PEG-CHO in which vancomycin was incorporated as an antimicrobial agent. The hydrogels possess porous structures, excellent mechanical strength, and high swelling ratio. The cytotoxicity studies indicated that the composite hydrogel systems possess good biocompatibility. The Schiff bases incorporated improve the adhesiveness and endow the hydrogels with bacteria-sensitivity. The in vivo hemostatic and antimicrobial experiments on rabbits and pigs demonstrated that the hydrogels are able to aid in rapid hemorrhage control and infection prevention. In summary, vancomycin-loaded hydrogels may be excellent candidates as hemostatic and antibacterial materials for first aid treatment of the wounded in critical situations.

Responsive and Synergistic Antibacterial Coatings: Fighting against Bacteria in a Smart and Effective Way

“…For example, the Schiff‐base bond, which tends to be quickly hydrolyzed under a weakly acidic condition, has been widely used in the field of controlled drug delivery systems. Using Schiff‐base moieties for the incorporation of the antibiotic vancomycin, a series of in situ PEG‐based hydrogels were developed . The nonfouling PEG components reduced the initial attachment of bacteria and the incorporated Schiff bases successfully improved the adhesiveness and endowed the hydrogel bacteria‐responsivity to release vancomycin under local weak acidification in the presence of bacteria.…”

Polymeric Hydrogel Systems as Emerging Biomaterial Platforms to Enable Hemostasis and Wound Healing

“…Taken together, these findings suggested that the prepared PEG-based hydrogel systems with efficient antibacterial and hemostatic properties may have the potential to be utilized for first aid treatment in critical situations. [146] Later, the same group engineered ammonolysis-based Tetra-PEG hydrogel integrating fast degradability, controllable dissolution properties and outstanding hemostatic capabilities in vivo through introducing cyclized succinyl ester groups into the Reproduced with permission. [146] Copyright 2016, American Chemical Society.…”

Rapid and Superior Bacteria Killing of Carbon Quantum Dots/ZnO Decorated Injectable Folic Acid‐Conjugated PDA Hydrogel through Dual‐Light Triggered ROS and Membrane Permeability

“…To solve this problem, a series of antibacterial agents have been combined into hydrogels to endow them with bacteria‐killing properties . For example, Bu et al designed a vancomycin‐loaded hydrogel with excellent antibacterial properties . Although antibacterial agents loaded into hydrogels can be effective in resisting infection, some disadvantages remain, such as complex synthetic processes, uncontrollable drug release and toxicity to normal cells.…”