Phycocyanin-based multifunctional hydrogel with self-healing, hemostatic, antioxidative, and antibacterial activity for wound healing.

Hydrogels have gained significant attentions in the field of wound dressing since their resemblance to the extracellular matrix and excellent biocompatibility. Oxidative damage and bacterial infections resulting from an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) present significant challenges for chronic non-healing wounds. To address the issues of excessive ROS and bacterial infections during the wound healing process, we utilized C-phycocyanin, gelatin and silk fibroin as matrices to fabricate multifunctional hydrogels (PRG hydrogel), with rhein introduced as an antibacterial agent and tetracaine for pain relief. The hydrogel exhibited good stretchability, compressibility, and adhesion properties. Besides, the incorporation of dynamic covalent bonding endowed the hydrogels with good self-healing capabilities. The hydrogel exhibited good pro-coagulant hemostatic effects and favorable blood compatibility. Furthermore, the hydrogel possessed good antioxidant ability and can suppress S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Additionally, the hydrogels showed high cytocompatibility and the rat trauma model further demonstrated that PRG-3 hydrogel could promote wound healing by reducing inflammation (TNF-α and IL-6) and accelerating collagen deposition and angiogenesis (CD31), which indicated that the hydrogel may as promise candidate for wound healing.