Smart Flexible Electronics-Integrated Wound Dressing for Real-Time Monitoring and On-Demand Treatment of Infected Wounds

Abstract

As the most frequent wound complication, infection has become a major clinical challenge in wound management. To overcome the “Black Box” status of the wound-healing process, next-generation wound dressings with the abilities of real-time monitoring, diagnosis during early stages, and on-demand therapy has attracted considerable attention. Here, by combining the emerging development of bioelectronics, a smart flexible electronics-integrated wound dressing with a double-layer structure, the upper layer of which is polydimethylsiloxane-encapsulated flexible electronics integrated with a temperature sensor and ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes, and the lower layer of which is a UV-responsive antibacterial hydrogel, is designed. This dressing is expected to provide early infection diagnosis via real-time wound-temperature monitoring by the integrated sensor and on-demand infection treatment by the release of antibiotics from the hydrogel by in situ UV irradiation. The integrated system possesses good flexibility, excellent compatibility, and high monitoring sensitivity and durability. Animal experiment results demonstrate that the integrated system is capable of monitoring wound status in real time, detecting bacterial infection and providing effective treatment on the basis of need. This proof-of-concept research holds great promise in developing new strategies to significantly improve wound management and other pathological diagnoses and treatments.