Preparation and evaluation of chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol/polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride antibacterial dressing to accelerate wound healing for infectious skin repair.

Background: Wound infections, especially multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections, are a major challenge in clinical medicine.

Methods: In this study, a new type of antibacterial sponge was prepared from a solution containing a chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol (CTS-PVA) emulsion with added polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG) in a homogeneous medium using lyophilization technology. The antibacterial ability of and CTS-PVA/PHMG sponge against , , , , Methicillin-resistant , multidrug-resistant , and multidrug-resistant in vitro. The structure and physical properties were characterized. The sponge dressing was tested in a -infected full-thickness mouse skin wound defect model. The effects were evaluated by wound area measurement and histological analysis.

Results: The CTS-PVA/PHMG sponge showed broad-spectrum antibacterial ability, including for MDR bacterial stains from clinical sources, while maintaining excellent physicochemical properties, including a high swelling degree and good moisture retention capability. Scanning electron microscopy images displayed the surface morphology of the CTS-PVA/PHMG sponge dressing. The detection of the wound healing rate and histological analysis supported that the new dressing can alleviate the inflammation and accelerate the healing speed of infected wounds and .

Conclusions: CTS-PVA/PHMG sponge shows broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, which can provide a new pathway for clinical prevention and treatment of superbug-infected wounds.