Hydrogel fights wound infection and inflammation

The new gel mimics the body’s natural defenses to tackle both inflammation and bacterial infection – two major concerns for patients recovering from wounds in hospital and surgical settings. Wound complications continue to be a persistent issue for clinicians who care for patients recovering from burns and surgeries. Although antibiotics can help prevent wound infections, their use contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Other methods such as gels and anti-inflammatory agents only address either infection or inflammation, and there are no treatments that can safely and effectively restrain both at once.

To solve this issue, Manoj Puthia and colleagues took inspiration from the human body’s peptide defenses, which neutralise bacteria and keep inflammatory immune responses in check. They created a hydrogel formulation that contains the antimicrobial peptide TCP-25, and saw it killed isolated Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria that commonly infect wounds.

Their formula showed strong antimicrobial effects against S. aureus in mice and minipigs with infected wounds and reduced local inflammation in both models without any toxic side effects.

In another experiment with pigs, the hydrogel outperformed the approved wound treatments Mepilex Ag and Prontosan when given to either prevent or treat S. aureus infections. Puthia et al. remark their gel could be stored for 180 days without weakening its effects, indicating it could address the need for a dual-acting wound treatment in real-life settings.