International journal of biological macromoleculesJul 9, 2025

Self-healing hyaluronic acid hydrogels that respond to two triggers to help heal antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus wounds

Regenerative Health Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Mar 28, 2026

Abstract

The hydrogel demonstrated a 99.12% bactericidal rate against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The hydrogel is synthesized using a natural extract to facilitate the green production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within its structure.
Self-healing and adhesive properties were confirmed with a maximum adhesion strength of 1.93 ± 0.12 N.
Mechanical testing revealed the hydrogel can withstand a strain of 60% with a compressive strength of 35.96 ± 2.11 kPa.
The hydrogel showed antioxidant capabilities, effectively reducing free radicals by 64.55 ± 4.69 %.
In vivo studies indicated a 12.51% reduction in wound size in rats treated with the hydrogel compared to the control after 12 days.
Transcriptomic analysis suggested the hydrogel may enhance wound healing by increasing certain cellular adhesion molecules and reducing inflammatory markers.

Simplified

In clinical applications, there is a scarcity of hyaluronic acid-based wound dressings that effectively combine "on-demand" release of efficient nanosilver (AgNPs) that resist antibiotic-resistant bacteria with self-healing, adhesive, and antioxidant properties. In this study, we synthesized a multifunctional nanocomposite hydrogel (HB-BCE/Ag) by cross-linking 3-Aminobenzeneboronic acid modified hyaluronic acid (HB) with Aronia melanocarpa extract (BCE), which promotes the in-situ green synthesis of 25.55 nm AgNPs within the hydrogel. The HB-BCE/Ag hydrogel demonstrated self-healing, tissue adhesiveness (maximum 1.93 ± 0.12 N; viscous modulus, G": 192 ± 16 Pa), mechanical integrity (strain of 60 %: 35.96 ± 2.11 kPa), and potent antioxidant capabilities (DPPH: 64.55 ± 4.69 %, PTIO·: 34.07 ± 1.40 %). Triggered by acidic conditions and hyaluronidase activity, the controlled release of AgNPs (increased by 12.62 ± 4.51 %) results in bactericidal rates of 99.12 ± 0.08 % against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 99.32 ± 0.13 % against S. aureus. In vivo assessments revealed accelerated healing of full-thickness MRSA-infected wounds in rats, with the hydrogel-treated wounds being notably smaller (12.51 % reduction in size) compared to those in the control group after 12 days. Transcriptomic analysis of wound tissue highlighted the role of the hydrogel in upregulating CDHE cadherin expression while suppressing in the inflammatory CXCL1 and CXCL2, thus promoting cellular proliferation and adhesion, and attenuating inflammation to enhance wound healing. Collectively, these dual-responsive antibacterial hydrogels hold promising potential as innovative multifunctional dressings for the clinical management of MRSA-infected wounds.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Funding

Competing interests

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

PubMed

Self-healing hyaluronic acid hydrogels that respond to two triggers to help heal antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus wounds

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week: