One of the potential treatments for bacterial wound infections is photodynamic therapy. WO 3−x semiconductor materials can generate reactive oxygen species when exposed to light, which can inactivate bacteria. In this work, we improved their photocatalytic performance by doping WO 3−x with Cu. The wound dressing was prepared by loading Cu−WO 3−x into a highly biocompatible chitosan sponge. The composite sponge dressing showed significant inactivation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and in vitro toxicity assays on L929 cells demonstrated the biosafety of the dressing. Through in vivo wound healing trials, composite sponge dressings have been shown to accelerate wound healing, and this composite chitosan sponge can be possibly used for photodynamic therapy of bacterial wound infections.

Bacterial wound infections are one of the growing health and safety threats to the public. In this study, WO 3−x /Ag 2 WO 4 photocatalysts were synthesized, and heterogeneous structures were constructed for nonantibiotic bactericidal use. Due to the heterostructure constructed with Ag 2 WO 4 , the photogenerated carrier separation efficiency and reactive oxygen generation capacity of WO 3−x were improved, which in turn improved the inactivation rate of bacteria. Also, this photocatalyst was loaded into PVA hydrogel for photodynamic treatment of bacterial wound infections. This hydrogel dressing was demonstrated to have good biosafety by in vitro cytotoxicity tests and to have a wound healing-promoting effect by in vivo wound healing experiments. This light-driven antimicrobial hydrogel has the potential ability to treat bacterial wound infections. 27

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