Poly (Lipoic Acid) Hydrogel Dressings With Adhesion, Self‐Healing, and Self‐Adaptive Properties via Dynamic Bonding

ABSTRACT Self‐healing hydrogels have become a hot research topic in the field of wound care due to their ability to prevent secondary damage to the dressing and reduce the risk of wound infection. The aim of this study was to develop a hydrogel network system with excellent self‐healing and antimicrobial properties, which is particularly suitable for wound dressing applications. The hydrogel stability was enhanced by forming long chains through lipoic acid (LA) disulfide bonding and inhibiting chain depolymerization via polygallic acid (PGA)‐mediated SAr bonding. In addition, poly(lysine) (PL) was doped into the system through electrostatic interactions to further enhance the structural strength and antimicrobial properties of the hydrogels. This noncovalent gel system endowed the hydrogels with softness and fluidity, enabling them to adapt to various wound shapes. Through experimental results, it was shown that the hydrogel not only possessed enhanced mechanical strength and remarkable self‐healing ability, but also exhibited good cytocompatibility. Antimicrobial tests have shown that it is more than 99.9% effective against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . Thus, PLA/PGA/PL hydrogel with remarkable self‐healing, antimicrobial, and biocompatibility properties shows great potential for application as wound dressings and becomes a strong candidate in the field of hydrogel dressings.