Adhesive, self-healing, injectable, conductive, and antibacterial hydrogels based on oxidized dextran and carboxymethyl chitosan incorporating silver nanoparticles doped rGO nanosheets

Conductive hydrogels with self-healing, tissue-adhesive, injectable, antibacterial, and biocompatibility properties offer significant potential for wound dressing applications in healthcare. Herein, we have developed a multifunctional hydrogel based on carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and oxidized dextran (ODex) incorporated with Ag@rGO nanocomposites through Schiff base reaction. The physicochemical characteristics of the fabricated ODex/CMCS/Ag@rGO (OCR) hydrogel were investigated by FT-IR, 1 H-NMR, SEM, XPS and TEM. The in vitro experiment results confirmed that the prepared QCR hydrogels exhibited favorable injectability with shear-thinning behavior, self-healing behavior, and suitable swelling capacity (1500~1700%). The ability to illuminate miniature light bulbs proved the conductivity of hydrogels. Remarkably, the material displayed robust adhesion to diverse substrates, including metals, glass, rubber, plastics, and biological tissues (human skin, porcine skin, heart, spleen, and kidney), maintaining stable adhesion under mechanical stress when applied to porcine skin. Antimicrobial testing revealed inhibition zones against both Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ). Furthermore, when the hydrogels were co-cultured with NIH 3T3 cells, the cell viability, cell morphology and cell migration were almost unaffected, showing good biocompatibility. This study provided a simple strategy for the preparation of multifunctional hydrogel-based wound dressings, which could have the potential for the future management of skin injuries.