Surgical Wound Infections

Polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride modified sodium alginate nonwoven with potent antibacterial and hemostatic properties for infected full-thickness wound healing

The development of multifunctional wound dressings has always been considered as a promising strategy to promote blood coagulation, inhibit bacterial infection, and accelerate wound healing. Herein, an antibacterial and hemostatic dressing (SA-PHMG) was developed based on sodium alginate (SA) nonwoven and polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG) through a completely green industrial route, including dipping, padding, and drying. According to studies, SA-PHMG dressings exhibited excellent liquid absorption capacity and water vapor permeability. Moreover, bactericidal assays have demonstrated that SA-PHMG dressings have ideal antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and mixed bacteria, maintaining potent antibacterial activity even after 10 cycles of antibacterial trials or 50 times of washing or soaping. The in vitro evaluation of the hemostatic effect indicated that the SA-PHMG could significantly promote blood clotting by activating platelets, and in vitro and in vivo hemolysis, cytotoxicity and skin irritation studies demonstrated the ideal biocompatibility of the dressings. In addition, better wound closure and tissue regeneration were recorded using SA-PHMG nonwoven as the dressing based on an infected full-thickness wound model. In conclusion, this antibacterial, hemostatic, biocompatible, and environmentally friendly SA-PHMG nonwoven exhibit the potential for infected wound healing.