Continuous and controllable electro-fabrication of antimicrobial copper-alginate dressing for infected wounds treatment

Abstract

The contamination of chronic wound with bacteria especially methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is considered as the major factor interferencing normal wound healing. There still remain great challenges in developing safe and effective wound dressings with wide-spectrum antibacterial functions. Alginate hydrogel is a common dressing for wound treatment. Copper is one of the trace elements in human body with inherent antibacterial activity. Traditional methods for preparing a structure-controlled copper-alginate antibacterial matrix are difficult however, due to the fast and uncontrolled gelation between alginate and metal ions. In this work, we report an electrodeposition method for rapid fabrication of copper cross-linked alginate antibacterial films (Cu2+-Alg) with controlled structure and copper content, which is relied on an electrical signal controlled release of copper ions from the reaction of insoluble salt Cu2(OH)2CO3 and the generated protons via water electrolysis on anode. The results prove that the physical structure and chemical composition of the electrodeposited Cu2+-Alg films can be continuously modulated by the imposed charges during electrodeposition. In vitro tests demonstrate the film has Cu2+ content-dependent bactericidal activities. Film’s cytocompatibility is well controlled by the imposed charges for Cu2+-Alg fabrication. The MRSA infected wound model in vivo also indicates that Cu2+-Alg film can effectively eliminate bacterial infection and suppress host inflammatory responses. We believe this study demonstrates a convenient and controllable strategy to fabricate alginate antibacterial dressings with potential applications for infected wound treatment. More broadly, our work reveals electrodeposition is a general and simple platform to design alginate films with versatile functions.

Research hotspot and trend of chronic wounds: A bibliometric analysis from 2013 to 2022

“…Moreover, Ding et al added cationic groups to the polyurethane dressing to endow the synthetic material with antibacterial activity 55 . However, adding metal ions to the dressing matrix to enhance the antibacterial ability is still mainstream since metal ions exhibit strong antibacterial ability and high stability 56–58 . Currently, silver nanoparticles are added in most antibacterial dressings since these nanoparticles exhibit a strong antibacterial ability, thus destroying disulphide bonds in protein structures 59,60 .…”

“…55 However, adding metal ions to the dressing matrix to enhance the antibacterial ability is still mainstream since metal ions exhibit strong antibacterial ability and high stability. [56][57][58] Currently, silver nanoparticles are added in most antibacterial dressings since these nanoparticles exhibit a strong antibacterial ability, thus destroying disulphide bonds in protein structures. 59,60 However, silver ions are capable of penetrating and destroying cell membranes, inducing oxidative stress, affecting DNA replication and transcription, and interfering with energy metabolism in cells.…”

Copper(ii)-MOFs for bio-applications

“…On the other hand, there are various materials that have demonstrated in recent years their high biocompatibility as a modified copper release system, such as polymer-based biofilms, an example is alginate with copper; however it has a low metal charge and the proposed production methods involve more steps compared to the content of a copper MOF and its production. 92 Other delivery systems are those proposed by chitosan with copper for drug delivery 93 and polymeric nanoparticles with copper coordination for cancer therapy; 94 however, obtaining these materials continues to be through chemical reactions in multiple stages compared to that obtained with one-step synthesis and a green copper MOF.…”

“…On the other hand, there are various materials that have demonstrated in recent years their high biocompatibility as a modified copper release system, such as polymer-based biofilms, an example is alginate with copper; however it has a low metal charge and the proposed production methods involve more steps compared to the content of a copper MOF and its production. 92…”

Weak Polyelectrolytes as Nanoarchitectonic Design Tools for Functional Materials: A Review of Recent Achievements

“…The generation of the crosslinking ions is achieved either by the dissolution of oxide precursors [ 69 ] or by direct oxidation to the relevant cations [ 70 ]. Anodic electrolysis has been used to dissolve CaCO 3 (respectively, Cu 2 (OH) 2 CO 3 ), yielding Ca 2+ and Cu 2+ ions near the electrode and allowing the assembly of ALG films by complexation [ 69 , 71 ]. Allowing work to be carried out at milder oxidation potentials, the electrochemical generation of multivalent cations has been developed with Cu 2+ , Fe 3+ , and Ru 2+ cations, allowing complexation and film deposition with ALG, Chitin, CHI, and PAA modified with terpyridine groups [ 71 , 72 , 73 ].…”