A self-adaptive adhesive, mechanically enhanced, and antibacterial non-woven fabric wound dressing functionalized by a semi-interpenetrating network hydrogel for promoting infected wound healing

Bacterial infection poses a primary challenge in wound management. However, the commercial non-woven dressings are incapable of treating infected wounds, limiting their clinical applications. Herein, we developed a novel composite dressing, featuring non-woven fabric (NF) decorated with a Zn²⁺ enhanced semi-interpenetrating network hydrogel (PNGZn@NF), which was achieved by cross-linking graft copolymers composed of acrylic acid and <i>N</i>-hydroxysuccinimide with Zn²⁺, followed by a coating-heat curing method to securely bond the hydrogel with the NF. The resultant PNGZn@NF exhibited high strength, self-adaptability, adhesion and antibacterial properties, and biocompatibility. In particular, the bacterial killing ratio was up to 99.99% for <i>E. coli</i> and <i>S. aureus</i>. In the <i>in vivo</i> experiments of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>) infection, PNGZn@NF showed enhanced infected wound healing ability by eliminating bacteria and reducing inflammation. Given these positive findings, this versatile wound dressing holds great potential in clinical treatment of infected wounds.