The development of a moldable and removable gel technique for wound dressing is becoming highly desirable. Herein, we describe a facile method to generate an adaptable and dissolvable network of PEG-thiols and aldehyde groups in oxidized dextran. The dynamic covalent chemistry of the thiol-aldehyde addition reaction provides hydrogels with typical rheological behavior and thus endows the hydrogels with an excellent adaptability for the initial operation of wound coverage. Upon addition of free thiol compounds, the dynamic covalent cross-linked hydrogels will dissolve via thiol-hemithioacetal exchange reaction. The successful application as a temporary dressing for scalded wounds indicated the hydrogels had both adaptability and dissolvability based on the thiol-aldehyde addition reaction, which is significant for biomedical areas.
Keywords: dynamic covalent cross-linking; removable hydrogels; thiol-aldehyde addition; wound dressing.