One-step engineered multifunctional gauze: On-demand antibiosis, accelerated hemostasis and angiogenesis for tissue regeneration

Traditional cotton gauze remains a primary wound dressing for initial wound protection and exudate control. However, it lacks antibacterial property and fails to support angiogenesis and epithelial regeneration. To address these limitations, a one-step solvent-based strategy was developed to uniformly integrate ZIF-8 nanoparticles onto gauze with good interfacial stability. The functionalized gauze shows pH-responsive Zn²⁺ releasing behavior. When bacteria invade the wound, pathogen-secreted organic acids trigger rapidly degradation of ZIF-8, resulting in a burst release of Zn²⁺, which increases bacterial membrane permeability, induces intracellular ROS production and protein leakage, and ultimately leads to bacterial death. Simultaneously, the gauze rapidly concentrates plasma components and red blood cells at the wound interface due to the high specific surface area of ZIF-8 and sustained release of Zn²⁺. During proliferation and remodeling phases of wound repair, Zn²⁺ further promotes tissue regeneration by stimulating the migration, adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of HUVECs and L929, enhancing angiogenesis and epithelial remodeling. In infected skin wound models, this functionalized gauze exhibits on-demand antibacterial activity, inflammation suppression, and accelerated collagen deposition and wound healing, demonstrating great clinical application potential.