Smart eutectogel with antibacterial activity for efficiently treating multidrug resistant infection, real-time monitoring and diabetic wound repair

Intelligent gel dressings that integrate therapeutic functions with real-time monitoring capabilities have shown considerable promise in diabetic wound treatment. However, current smart dressings often ignore issues such as resistant bacteria infections and the long-term monitoring stability. Herein, a smart cellulose-based eutectogel dressing with high sensitivity, long-term stability, and excellent anti-drug resistant bacteria activities is devised using deep eutectic solvent (DES)-replacement method for the promotion of infected diabetic wound repair and real-time monitoring of wound status. Benefiting from multiple hydrogen bonding, chemical cross-linking and electrostatic interactions, the obtained eutectogels exhibit excellent mechanical properties (16.83 kPa stress and 190.32 % strain), good conductivity (1.14 S/m), and environmental tolerance. Furthermore, the eutectogels demonstrate outstanding temperature-responsive properties (TCR = −0.99 %/°C), which could accurately and steadily sense wound temperature fluctuations for real-time monitoring of the healing status. Additionally, the biocompatible eutectogels efficiently eliminate multidrug-resistant bacteria (reached 99.99 %), attributed to disruption of bacterial membrane through electrostatic interaction. Notably, in vitro biofilm studies confirmed the eutectogels effectively prevent multidrug-resistant bacteria biofilm formation. The in vivo experiments on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected diabetic wounds have demonstrated that the eutectogels can effectively inhibit bacteria growth, reduce inflammatory response, promote collagen deposition and accelerate diabetic wounds healing. This work presents a promising therapeutic approach for the diagnosis and therapy in MRSA-infected chronic diabetic wounds.