Multifunctional wound dressings integrating moisture retention, antibacterial activity, and bioactive delivery are in demand, yet balancing structural stability and functional synergy in polysaccharide hydrogels remains a challenge. This study focused on developing such advanced dressings. Poria cocos glucan (PCG) hydrogels were fabricated via annealing, with PCG-4 (4 wt.%) identified as the optimal matrix. PCG-tannic acid (TA) composite hydrogels were subsequently prepared via TA loading, followed by systematic property characterization and in vivo wound healing evaluation in a rat full-thickness wound model. The composite hydrogel exhibited balanced porosity (56.7 ± 3.4%) and swelling (705.5 ± 11.3%), along with enhanced mechanical rigidity. It enabled temperature-responsive TA release, coupled with high antioxidant activity and antibacterial efficacy. Additionally, it showed excellent biocompatibility (hemolysis rate 98%) and accelerated rat wound closure with enhanced collagen deposition, suggesting a beneficial combined effect of the composite's components. PCG-TA holds promise as an advanced wound dressing, and the scalable annealing fabrication strategy supports its translational application potential.
Gao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.