A Dry Patch with <i>In Situ</i> Solid-to-Gel Transformation for All-in-One Skin Wound Care

Hydrogel-based dressing materials offer significant potential in expediting skin wound healing. Nevertheless, they face several challenges: poor adhesion to wound tissues, difficulties in preservation under ambient conditions, and limited multifunctionality to support all wound healing stages. In this work, a dry patch is designed to address these persistent issues by featuring an <i>in situ</i> solid-to-gel transformation and Janus wet tissue adhesiveness. The HGP patch integrates a wet adhesive layer combining dopamine-conjugated hyaluronic acid (HD) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), a drug-loading layer comprising gelatin (Gel), and a nonadhesive gelation layer of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA). This hierarchical structural design confers exceptional wound adhesion, hemostatic capabilities, and antibacterial and antioxidant activities, as well as immune regulatory properties. These attributes collectively support accelerated skin wound healing, particularly in cases complicated by bacterial infections. This research charts an approach to engineer hydrogel-based wound dressings through on-site hydrogel formation, thus advancing the treatment of wounds afflicted with complex infections.