Biomimetic Antibacterial Gelatin Hydrogels with Multifunctional Properties for Biomedical Applications.

A facile novel approach of introducing dopamine and [2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl] dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide via dopamine-triggered in situ synthesis into gelatin hydrogels in the presence of ZnSO is presented in this study. Remarkably, the resulting hydrogels showed 99.99 and 100% antibacterial efficiency against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, respectively, making them the highest performing surfaces in their class.

Polysaccharide-based antibacterial coating technologies.

To tackle antimicrobial resistance, a global threat identified by the United Nations, is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and is responsible for significant costs on healthcare systems, a substantial amount of research has been devoted to developing polysaccharide-based strategies that prevent bacterial attachment and biofilm formation on surfaces. Polysaccharides are essential building blocks for life and an abundant renewable resource that have attracted much attention due to their intrinsic remarkable biological potential antibacterial activities. If converted into efficient antibacterial coatings that could be applied to a broad range of surfaces and applications, polysaccharide-based coatings could have a significant potential global impact.

High-performance poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels formed with a block copolymer crosslinker containing amino-acid derivatives.

Two block copolymers containing two amino-acid derivatives, PEO-b-PLAA and PEO-b-PAAC, were fabricated through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) or reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT). Then, they were employed as a macro-crosslinker to prepare high-performance poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) hydrogels named "PxAy" or "TyAz". There were numerous synergistic noncovalent interactions with hydrogen bonds between the macro-crosslinker and PAA chains, as well as entanglement of polymer chains.