Lotus Leaf Inspired Antiadhesive and Antibacterial Gauze for Enhanced Infected Dermal Wound Regeneration

Abstract Gauze is the leading dressing for wound management. However, infection and tissue adhesion pose serious challenges to the application of gauzes. Herein, inspired by the self-cleaning property of lotus leaf, we develop a novel antiadhesive and antibacterial gauze. The gauze, named Lotus@Gauze, is fabricated by decorating an ordinary medical gauze sequentially with polydopamine, perfluorocarbon and silver nanoparticle to obtain a lotus leaf-mimic surface structure. Lotus@Gauze exhibits excellent antiadhesive and antibacterial effects, and its antibacterial ability is enhanced under NIR irradiation due to the photothermal effect of polydopamine. Furthermore, in vivo results reveal that, in comparison with clinically available antiadhesive or antibacterial gauzes, Lotus@Gauze shows better efficacy in promoting infectious wound regeneration due to its low tissue adhesion and effective bactericidal activity. Overall, this study explores a new attempt to overcome the challenge of tissue adhesion and infection by integrating antiadhesive and antibacterial properties into one piece of simple gauze.