Enhanced physiochemical, antibacterial, and hemostatic performance of collagen-quaternized chitosan-graphene oxide sponges for promoting infectious wound healing

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 May;266(Pt 2):131277. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131277. Epub 2024 Mar 31.

Abstract

Bacteria-infected wound healing has attracted widespread attention in biomedical engineering. Wound dressing is a potential strategy for repairing infectious wounds. However, the development of wound dressing with appropriate physiochemical, antibacterial, and hemostatic properties, remains challenging. Hence, there is a motivation to develop new synthetic dressings to improve bacteria-infected wound healing. Here, we fabricate a biocompatible sponge through the covalent crosslinking of collagen (Col), quaternized chitosan (QCS), and graphene oxide (GO). The resulting Col-QCS-GO sponge shows an elastic modulus of 1.93-fold higher than Col sponge due to enhanced crosslinking degree by GO incorporation. Moreover, the fabricated Col-QCS-GO sponge shows favorable porosity (84.30 ± 3.12 %), water absorption / retention (2658.0 ± 113.4 % / 1114.0 ± 65.7 %), and hemostasis capacities (blood loss <50.0 mg). Furthermore, the antibacterial property of the Col-QCS-GO sponge under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation is significantly enhanced (the inhibition rates are 99.9 % for S. aureus and 99.9 % for E. coli) due to the inherent antibacterial properties of QCS and the photothermal antibacterial capabilities of GO. Finally, the Col-QCS-GO+NIR sponge exhibits the lowest percentage of wound area (9.05 ± 1.42 %) at day 14 compared to the control group (31.61 ± 1.76 %). This study provides new insights for developing innovative sponges for bacteria-infected wound healing.

Keywords: Graphene oxide; Infectious wound healing; Quaternized chitosan.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / chemistry
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacology
  • Bandages
  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry
  • Biocompatible Materials / pharmacology
  • Chitosan* / chemistry
  • Chitosan* / pharmacology
  • Collagen / chemistry
  • Collagen / pharmacology
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Graphite* / chemistry
  • Graphite* / pharmacology
  • Hemostasis / drug effects
  • Hemostatics* / chemistry
  • Hemostatics* / pharmacology
  • Porosity
  • Rats
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Wound Healing* / drug effects

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Chitosan
  • Collagen
  • graphene oxide
  • Graphite
  • Hemostatics