Construction of self‐healing gallium (III)‐cross‐linked konjac glucomannan/polyacrylamide hydrogels for efficiently killing bacteria and accelerating wound healing

Abstract

AbstractGallium ions have a special action mechanism that interferes bacterial iron metabolism, thereby possessing great potential for the treatment of bacterial infections. In this work, gallium ions‐cross‐linked konjac glucomannan/polyacrylamide (KGM/PAM/Ga3+) hydrogels are successfully constructed with satisfactory swelling ability, appropriate mechanical properties and adjustable degradation performance. Ga ions as a kind of cross‐linking agent can enhance the stability, and more importantly, improve the bactericidal ability of hydrogel, thus forming novel functional KGM/PAM/Ga3+ hydrogels for treating wounds. After the evaluation of antibacterial activity and biocompatibility, KGM/PAM/Ga3+ hydrogels can effectively inhibit the proliferation of bacteria through the gradual and sustainable release of Ga ions from the hydrogel with negligible cytotoxicity and good blood compatibility. Furthermore, they possess exceptional self‐healing behavior, and can be readily adapted to varying degrees of bending, which matches skin wound dressing application. Finally, the results of wound healing performance and histological evaluation demonstrate that KGM/PAM/Ga3+ hydrogels can efficiently accelerate infected wound healing and facilitate the regeneration of skin tissues.