Design and synthesis of hydrogel dressings made with guar gum to enhance antimicrobial and skin wound healing properties.

Abstract

Conventional gauze lacks antimicrobial properties and mobility, making it ineffective in treating skin wounds. Hydrogels, due to their excellent biocompatibility and softness, are considered ideal wound dressings. Hydrogel dressings based on cationic guar gum (CGG) were constructed using (4-hydroxyphenylboronic acid) cysteamine as a crosslinker. The structure and morphology of the CGG hydrogels were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, experiments including in vitro antimicrobial testing, CCK-8 assays, live/dead cell staining, and animal model wound healing were conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, safety, and wound healing efficiency of CGG hydrogels. The prepared CGG hydrogel exhibited a three-dimensional mesh structure. In vitro antimicrobial, CCK-8, and live/dead cell staining experiments demonstrated that the CGG hydrogel effectively inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus while showing no significant toxicity to human skin fibroblast cells (CCD-986sk), indicating good biocompatibility. Moreover, results from animal model wound healing experiments indicated that the CGG hydrogels possessed an ability to promote wound healing. CGG hydrogels effectively inhibited bacterial growth and promoted wound healing, making them safe and effective dressings for skin wound treatment.