Crosslinker-free PVA hydrogel incorporating a water-soluble Ir(III) photosensitizer for antibacterial photodynamic applications in wound healing.

Authors

Tian Luan, Yu Zhang, Weijin Zhu, Dongxia Zhu, Yan Du

Published in

Journal of materials chemistry. B. Jul 07, 2026. Epub Jul 07, 2026.

Abstract

Bacterial infections, particularly those involving biofilm formation and antibiotic-resistant pathogens, severely impede wound healing. Photodynamic antibacterial therapy (PDT) offers a non-antibiotic, broad-spectrum antibacterial strategy via light-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, yet poor photosensitizer retention and instability in exudative wounds limit its clinical translation. Herein, we report a crosslinker-free photodynamic hydrogel platform based on a physically assembled poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) network incorporating a water-soluble cyclometalated Ir(III) photosensitizer in its sodium salt form (IrONa). The hydrogel is fabricated via repeated freeze-thaw cycling, enabling homogeneous photosensitizer incorporation without chemical crosslinkers. Multivalent hydrogen bonding and nanoscale physical confinement effectively suppress premature photosensitizer leaching while preserving its photophysical activity. Upon visible-light irradiation, the FT-PVA/IrONa hydrogel generates sustained singlet oxygen with high efficiency, resulting in potent antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Notably, localized photodynamic action reduced mature biofilm biomass and viable biofilm-associated bacteria, resulting in a 71.2% inhibition rate against MRSA biofilms. In an MRSA-infected burn wound model, photodynamic activation of the FT-PVA/IrONa hydrogel significantly decreases bacterial burden, downregulates pro-inflammatory cytokines, and upregulates pro-angiogenic markers, ultimately accelerating wound closure and tissue reconstruction. This work establishes a simple yet effective strategy to embed photosensitizers into tissue-conformal hydrogels, offering an antibiotic-free platform for infected wound treatment.

PMID:
42412212
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Jul 2026.

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