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ε-Poly(L-lysine)-based Hydrogels with Fast-acting and Prolonged Antibacterial Activities

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Abstract

Bacterial infections and the associated morbidity and mortality due to bacterial pathogens in wounds and medical implants have been increasing as most of current coatings cannot fulfill all the requirements including excellent intrinsically antibacterial activity, low cytotoxicity, and favorable physical properties. Herein, we present a kind of antibacterial hydrogel based on ε-poly(L-lysine) (EPL) grafted carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC-g-EPL) as the inherently antibacterial matrix and the surplus EPL as highly efficient antimicrobial agent. Such hydrogels possess tunable swelling abilities with water absorption percentages of 800%-2000% and modulus varying from 10 kPa to 100 kPa, and exhibit two-stage excellent antibacterial behavior. First, the free EPL can be released from the hydrogel network for quick and highly efficient bacteria killing with 99.99% of efficacy; second, the grafted EPL endows hydrogel matrix with prolonged intrinsically antibacterial activity, especially when most of free EPL is released from the hydrogel. Overall, we provide a new insight for preparing highly effective antibacterial hydrogels.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21674081), Shanghai International Scientific Collaboration Fund (No. 15230724500), Shanghai 1000 Talents Plan (No. SH01068), and the Fundamental Research Fund for the Central Universities (Nos. 22120180109 and 1500219107).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200072, China

    Yi-Jie Zou, Shi-Sheng He & Jian-Zhong Du

  2. Department of Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Department Civil Engineering Materials of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China

    Yi-Jie Zou & Jian-Zhong Du

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  1. Yi-Jie Zou
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Correspondence to Jian-Zhong Du.

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Zou, YJ., He, SS. & Du, JZ. ε-Poly(L-lysine)-based Hydrogels with Fast-acting and Prolonged Antibacterial Activities. Chin J Polym Sci 36, 1239–1250 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-018-2156-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-018-2156-1

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