Advancing wound healing: controlled release of tannic acid via epitope imprinted antimicrobial spongy cover material

The increasing resistance of microorganisms to conventional antibiotics calls for alternative antimicrobial strategies. This study introduces a novel approach to acute wound healing by incorporating epitope-imprinted spongy cover materials with antimicrobial properties, using Tannic acid (TA) as the active agent within biocompatible cryogels imprinted with gallic acid. The spongy materials were synthesized and characterized through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), swelling tests, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to assess their structural and physicochemical properties. The antimicrobial efficacy of the cryogels, loaded with 1.5, 3, 5 mg/mL of TA concentrations, was tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, common pathogens in wound infections. The highest inhibition zone was determined to be 15 mm for S. aureus and 12 mm for E. coli. Maximum TA adsorption was 210.27 mg/g for eMIP and 24.74 mg/g for NIP. Cumulative release studies revealed the highest release rate occurred within the first 2 h. TA release kinetics indicated a non-Fickian diffusion mechanism. Additionally, the biocompatibility and potential cytotoxicity of the spongy materials, including TA-loaded variants, were assessed using the MTT assay on cultured cells. The results confirmed that the spongy materials are non-toxic and do not inhibit cell proliferation, supporting their suitability for acute wound healing. This study demonstrates that TA-loaded epitope-imprinted Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA)-based spongy materials possess antimicrobial properties, making them potential candidates for wound and burn dressing applications.