Imidazolium salt chitosan based on bacterial capture: Antimicrobial mechanisms, biosafety, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-infected wound healing.

The global burden of disease caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections is escalating, necessitating the urgent development of novel antimicrobial materials that combine safety and high efficacy. Herein, a strategy combining bacterial capture with highly efficient broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity is employed to prepare a series of imidazolium salt chitosan (IMSCs) through a simple method. IMSCs-5 exhibits a capture-kill capability with a low propensity to induce bacterial resistance. It primarily induces bacterial death through intracellular reactive oxygen species generation and multiple synergistic mechanisms. Additionally, IMSCs-5 demonstrates strong therapeutic effects on wounds infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, without causing notable systemic toxicity. These findings suggest that IMSCs provides new ideas for the rational design of novel antimicrobial materials, making it suitable for clinical applications in the treatment of MDR bacterial infections.