Hybrid nanocomposite multinetwork hydrogel containing magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles with enhanced antibacterial activity for wound dressing applications

Efficient and cost-effective antibacterial materials are urgently needed owing to the antibiotic abuse and the threat of drug-resistant bacteria. Here we develop a hybrid nanocomposite hydrogel composed of Mg(OH)₂ nanoparticles (MgNPs), chitosan (CS), sodium alginate and polyacrylamide, called MgNPs/CS hydrogel. MgNPs/CS hydrogel presents excellent mechanical properties, high biocompatibility and improved broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. Particularly, the integration of MgNPs improves the stiffness and tensile strength of hydrogel without decreasing toughness. Moreover, MgNPs/CS hydrogel significantly enhances in vivo wound healing process in a skin defect rat model and the healing efficiency is much higher than sterile gauze and multisentry. Importantly, all the materials used in MgNPs/CS hydrogel are low-cost and accessible, indicating that MgNPs/CS hydrogel is more cost-effective and more feasible in practice. These results demonstrate that MgNPs/CS hydrogel can serve as an antibacterial dressing and contribute to the development of next-generation antibacterial materials.