Electrospun dressing promotes diabetic-infected wound healing via rapid and sustained antibacterial, ROS scavenging, and immune modulation ability

Diabetic wounds remain a major clinical challenge due to bacterial infection, persistent inflammation, and excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This highlights the urgent need for wound dressings that provide sustained antibacterial effects, stable ROS scavenging, and effective immune modulation. To this end, we developed a multifunctional electrospun polyvinyl alcohol-chitosan (PVA-CS) nanofibrous dressing by integrating black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs) with polydopamine-coated zinc oxide nanoparticles (PDA@ZnO NPs). This dressing achieved synergistic photothermal-Zn²⁺ ion antibacterial activity, rapidly reducing the viability of MRSA, MSSA, and E. coli, along with their biofilms, to 0-2% in 3 min while enabling Zn²⁺ release to support a sustained antibacterial microenvironment. The dresssing also provided sustained ROS scavenging due to stabilized BPNSs, with intracellular ROS levels reduced to 13-20%, accompanied by an overall 50-70% improvement in antioxidant capacity, thereby alleviating oxidative stress and suppressing inflammation. In addition, ZnO NPs also promoted anti-inflammatory macrophage polarization, accelerated tissue healing, and supported natural repair processes. This work introduces a multifunctional wound dressing with rapid and sustained antibacterial, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties, offering a promising solution for chronic diabetic wounds.