Chitosan-cellulose hydrogel integrated textile dressing for vitiligo: synergistic antimicrobial and antioxidant therapy

• A multifunctional hydrogel-textile dressing was engineered for vitiligo therapy. • The hydrogel offers strong tissue adhesion and efficient radical scavenging. • Modified fabric provides robust antibacterial activity and mechanical reinforcement. • The dressing significantly enhances skin repigmentation in vitiligo models. Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder that primarily arises from oxidative cytotoxicity targeting melanocytes through aberrant reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. To address the multifactorial nature of this condition, we engineered an integrated hydrogel-textile hybrid dressing designed to simultaneously mitigate oxidative stress, prevent infection, and support melanocyte transplantation. The dressing consists of a dual-network hydrogel formed by grafting protocatechuic acid onto chitosan (CS-PCA) and crosslinking with oxidized carboxymethyl cellulose (OCMC) through Schiff base reactions, which is then combined with polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG)-functionalized cotton fabric via physical interpenetration. This novel material exhibited exceptional antioxidant activity through scavenging over 85 % of ROS in vitro, coupled with antimicrobial efficacy with a bacterial elimination rate exceeding 99 %. It also demonstrates strong tissue adhesion (29.69 kPa) and enhanced mechanical strength (0.73–10.2 %) due to the synergistic contribution of the textile framework. In a vitiligo mouse model, the hybrid dressing significantly promoted skin repigmentation, increasing melanin deposition from 0.13 % to 2.61 %. These findings demonstrate that our multifunctional dressing provides a comprehensive therapeutic strategy for vitiligo treatment by simultaneously addressing multiple pathological mechanisms, showing great potential for clinical translation in cell-based therapy.