Living bacteria-loaded antibacterial hydrogel-coated gauze: A revolutionary solution for multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections

Chronic wounds infected by methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>MRSA</i>) pose critical therapeutic challenges due to the prevalence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. To address this issue, a biocompatible live bacteria-loaded hydrogel-coated gauze (APAG) was developed by integrating an engineering <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. SC11pLAFR-GFP with an alginate/ε-polylysine-polyacrylamide (Alg/ε-PL-PAAm) double-network hydrogel. The hierarchical hydrogel architecture, achieved through physical entrapment in the Alg/ε-PL core, ensures bacterial viability, while the chemically crosslinked PAAm outer layer regulates metabolite diffusion kinetics, synergistically enhancing therapeutic efficacy. The engineered bacteria hydrogel gauze (SC11@APAG) demonstrated sustained antimicrobial production for more than 48 h through the metabolic activity of the loaded <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. SC11. This biohybrid not only effectively combats <i>MRSA</i> infection in mice wounds but also enhances wound healing. This "bacterial antagonism" strategy combines the native antimicrobial properties of <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. with advanced material engineering, establishing a new paradigm for intelligent biomedical textiles in combating antimicrobial resistance.