Aptamers as Novel Binding Molecules on an Antimicrobial Peptide-Armored Composite Hydrogel Wound Dressing for Specific Removal and Efficient Eradication of .

Here we present for the first time a potential wound dressing material implementing aptamers as binding entities to remove pathogenic cells from newly contaminated surfaces of wound matrix-mimicking collagen gels. The model pathogen in this study was the Gram-negative opportunistic bacterium , which represents a considerable health threat in hospital environments as a cause of severe infections of burn or post-surgery wounds. A two-layered hydrogel composite material was constructed based on an established eight-membered focused anti- polyclonal aptamer library, which was chemically crosslinked to the material surface to form a trapping zone for efficient binding of the pathogen.