Injectable dual-network conductive antimicrobial hydrogels from oxidized dextran/hydroxypropyl chitosan: Multifunctional applications in wound healing and physiological monitoring

Skin wounds present significant clinical challenges. Conventional hydrogel dressings often suffer from bacterial susceptibility, poor wound conformability, and inadequate hemostatic capacity. Integrating multifunctionality into hydrogel dressings these limitations remain an unresolved goal. Herein, we engineer OHAFe – an injectable conductive hydrogel featuring synergistic antimicrobial efficacy (99 %), tissue adhesion, rapid hemostasis (achieved within 41.1 s), and mechanical robustness. This dual-network system exploits Schiff base bonds between oxidized dextran and hydroxypropyl chitosan, augmented by Fe³⁺-acrylamide coordination complexes for structural reinforcement. In rat whole skin defect models, OHAFe hydrogel dressings accelerated wound healing, demonstrating a 2.02-fold increase in healing rate versus control at day 14. The hydrogel serves as a high-fidelity biosensing platform, exhibiting exceptional sensitivity and rapid response time (85.69 ms) for monitoring human motion. Significantly, it enables wireless real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) signal acquisition. This work establishes OHAFe as a versatile biomaterial platform converging advanced wound therapeutics with precision health monitoring capabilities.